A Dragon's Perfect Jade
by Mirror's Mirage
Summary: Where Jade goes, trouble always seems to follow and for a young woman who spent a portion of her childhood as an impromptu demon hunter, she can't escape her past or her demons so easily. Especially when former enemies appear, not seeking vengeance but her help against an enemy who brings fear to even demon hearts. - Chapter 10 - Deep Thinking - Delays (I'm sorry for being a flake)
1. A Dragon's Exile

**_Author's Note: This is a rewritten version of '_**A Dragon's Jade**_. I liked it but I lost inspiration/drive to write it. So I decided to brush up on my knowledge of Jackie Chan Adventures. I have no interest in Jackie—Jade's rebellious sass always spoke to me more as a kid. I also love stories of demons and demon-hunters—the eternal conflict. This features some of Jade's childhood friends—minor canonical characters all grown up._**

**_I was trying to write it before posting it but when I try that I get lazy. At least when I post what I have, I am driven to continue to post._**

_Expect minor canonical characters to become important, a few fan-original concepts and characters, new and old villains and of course plenty of magic, battles, mystical artifacts and demons. Also expect references to the Okinawan martial art style of Goju-Ryu. That is the style I actually practice so I feel safe just going with that. Some Muy Thai will probably be thrown in there because I saw an excellent martial arts movie featuring that style. I apologize for any inaccuracies in anyone's fighting style but never fear – Jade will retain her penchant for flying kicks._

_**Summary: Where Jade goes, she'll find trouble or it'll find her and for a young woman who spent a portion of her childhood as an impromptu demon hunter, she can't escape her past so easily. Especially when a sworn enemy and a demon of her past appears, not seeking vengeance...but her help.**_

_**Begun: September 7th, 2012, Friday**_

_**For the moment, I shall aim to post once a week (probably NOT on Fridays)**_

_**Disclaimer: **I claim no right of sale or copyright. This belongs to the original creators - I'm just playing in their sandbox_

* * *

**A Dragon's Perfect Jade**

**Chapter One: A Dragon's Exile**

* * *

Drago contemplated the distance between this tiny rock island and the next one. The Netherworld was vast, infinite and immense—and filled with things that had been lost or displaced from the Mortal Plain. Things that drifted from holes in the continuum that had long since been fixed or had sealed up of its own accord long before any demon could get to it. He was on his own as usual, keeping his distance between himself and his dysfunctional demon family who were friends one moment and enemies the next. The only thing everyone agreed on was their hatred for Shendu, if for different reasons.

Drago liked being alone; he knew how to avoid his aunts and uncles who seemed uncertain as to how treat him until they decided to treat him as a nephew and therefore better than they treated his father. They saved most of their torment for Shendu save the usual family arguments involving aunts, uncle, a rebellious nephew and sarcastic comments.

They had mixed feelings about him collecting their chi and the (attempted) world take over that would have _succeeded if Shendu _hadn't interfered. They had mixed feelings about this too—on one hand Tso Lan, Hsi Wu, and Bai Tsa felt that he could have succeeded where they had failed _if_ Shendu had not interfered (and if a _certain _disobedient human girl had not suggested the talismans and therefore given Shendu the power to defeat Drago.)

Xiao Fung and Po Kong paid him no mind, Dai Gui got along with him better than Shendu if only for their mutual dislike of the elder dragon demon. Tchangzu hated Drago and Shendu equally but saved the petty bullying for Shendu because Drago was a rebellious teenager who could put up one a hell of a fight and had experience wielding the siblings various magics, if only for a brief time. In addition, his small human-like size in comparison to the most of the other demons made him harder to hit.

But right now, Drago was trying to get away from his family. He could understand why they were all frantic to get out of this place; they had been trapped for countless _centuries_ and he'd been here...a few years. Who could tell how much time had passed in this never-changing boring voidscape ?If it wasn't for _dear old Dad_...(and Jade) he wouldn't be here.

Ah Jade. The rebellious niece (actually, second cousin) of Jackie Chan and (in Drago's opinion) far more irritating than any other human.

Drago took a standing leap, carried by the near-lack of gravity here and landed on a large rock. He almost _missed_ the human world if only because the skies were _blue_, the wind-crisp and cool in the right areas—cooled him off when his heartfire flared too much because he was frustrated. Here the orange-red skies pressed on him; he felt like fire was all around him and he _welcomed real fire—_but not the kind that made him as if he was going to lose control and burn himself up.

"Is it really so hard to find that stupid library in this place!?"

Centuries and centuries of boredom will drive humans (and demons) to do _anything_ to stave off insanity; from the books and inks and random objects that had drifted into the void, his uncles and aunts had fashioned a library; Tchangzu was more likely to destroy it. Xiao Fung, Bai Tsa, Tso Lan, Shendu and now Drago actually appreciated it though Shendu didn't get to use it much since the others usually had reign of the library.

A while ago Drago decided that reading spellbooks would keep him sane for a while so after gaining Bai Tsa's grudging respect, he found the library. Unfortunately, it had this annoying habit of drifting everywhere and anywhere so sometimes, on those occasions when he left the library, it was hard to find it again.

Drago took another leap and discovered his talon prints in the dust of the new rock.

"I'm going in circles!" He kicked a rock spire angrily, smashing it into chunks of rock and dust. "How could they stand it here for centuries!? I'm going crazy and I've only been here a few years!" He sat down heavily in the dust, a growl of frustration slipping from between clenched fangs, claws curled against his skull.

"This is Dad's fault. If he hadn't sided with the Chans, I'd be King of the World right now!"

_"Throw your talismans to Shendu!"_

And little Jade...

_"Sorry, scaly. I'm not the sentimental type."_

_"Later, Gecko Boy." _His memories of a future that never was. He'd think of those times then remember they _won't happen_. They didn't happen in this world, in this timeline. That was another world now, another timeline, another life. And this Jade won't ever remember the way he did because she would never live it.

_"Sorry, scaly. I'm not the sentimental type."_

A ruthless woman with no hesitation about taking down the demon she had once called _friend._

A girl who never know the future that might have been for her if he hadn't gone back in time.

A girl who ended up the target of a dragon's rage because of a crime she had yet to commit, a crime she would _never _commit. A little girl—a _human _girl who had shown him up on _several_ occasions.

A girl who always avoided his many attempts to kill her. He _could _have killed her, he suppose if he _really wanted_ to. But he didn't; her death was always second priority over the retrieval of the demon chi. Or maybe he was just saying that because he hadn't _actually wanted_ to kill her.

_"You may be a demon but you're still a person."_ Words she would never _ever _say. Not anymore.

An infuriated roar rang through the void as a pillar of flame erupted from his entire body, quickly dissipating. Having all these memories that would never _really happen in this reality was so_ _annoying!_

"There has to be a way out of this place!"

He knew his aunts and uncles must have looked a thousand times, a million times and were _still here_. But no matter the failures of those who came before, one had to succeed _eventually._

**_Then may I strike a deal with you, young dragon?_**

Drago's head jerked up, crimson orbs narrowing into slits as his tail flicked. The shadowy image of a red cloaked figure - most of the body just a ghostly mist with bright red eyes peeking from beneath the hood - slowly appeared, hovering before him.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Drago growled out.

**_To make a deal. One that will get you out of that pesky prison of yours._**

Drago frowned. "Usually when wizards call a demon there's a catch."

_**Well, that is true.**_ The witch admitted. _**Why else would we call upon your kind?**_

"What do you want?" Drago demanded.

**_There's a special artifact I'm after and I need a reliable assistant with plenty of experience. _**The dark shadow explained. **_I can get you out of there if you assist me._**

Drago thought about it.

His father had once been brought out of the Netherworld by the Dark Chi Wizard Daolong Wong but had been quickly sent back thanks to the Chans and their fellow humans.

**_Do not worry._**She said as if reading his mind. **_There will be no interference from my fellows or demon hunters._**

It was tempting to get out of this void—but magic-users always wanted something in return and human magic-users and demons had long-standing rivalry.

But he could handle human magic-wielders. "What's your plan then?"

The witch's shadow seemed to sigh. **_Demons are uncommon in Western Magic – that is to say European Magic but fairly common in the Eastern Magic, Asian, circles. I require several mystical artifacts from the forges of Hephaestus and the use of a demon would surprise my enemies._**

She didn't_seem _too bad...but then again, first impressions were deceiving a great deal of the time. On the other hand, this was a prime chance to get out of this stinking void and he had been researching a lot spells many of which he had been able to practice...

And he could figure out what to do about _Jade Chan_. And maybe the rest of them.

"Deal."

The Shadow smiled. **_Excellent. Here is what you must do..._**

* * *

_**Sometime later...**_

It had taken some doing, but patience and plotting had won Drago free-rein of the library. He was the only one there-his aunts, uncles and father were arguing again somewhere far from the library with explosive results. He didn't care what they did - as long as they stayed away long enough to let him finish his task. And then _he_ would be out of this stinking void so he could find his answers.

Drago prowled the shelves of the ancient library, a thick book tucked under his arm and stuffed full of notes. He never done so much reading in his life, preferring to depend largely on his instincts to get by but in this world, reading and exploring the outer reaches of the Netherworld was practically the only two things that kept him from going completely insane.

Drago stopped at a tall shelf, narrowing his eyes. Then, they widened as a pink haze filled them and an image appeared in his mind's eye.

_A gleaming piece of mirror._

Drago blinked and came back to himself. _The first piece to my key out of here._Shoving the journal into his sling, he gripped the first of many shelves, propelling himself upwards towards his prize.

* * *

**That was a good start don't you think? Please review and tell me what you think of this reboot.**

**I've actually had this chapter ready to go for **_**ages **_**but I wanted to type the rest of the chapters and school was getting in the way.**


	2. The Consequences of Being Jade

**A/N: I hate not having an author's note-it feel so impersonal. So I hope everyone reads and enjoys. (I was a little afraid of uploading this)**

**Disclaimer: **_I claim no right of sale or copyright. This belongs to the original creators - I'm just playing in their sandbox_

_Review Replies: Elizabeth - Don't worry - I've taken the time to review what could be improved from the previous version. This won't be just a brush up of the old version so it'll make more sense. Hopefully._

_To everyone: let me know if you have helpful critiques or suggestions_

_Thanks to: **jameygamer, alana fox, LexiLopez (who gave some nice suggestions for the villainess) bunnyrabbits.123, Elizabeth and merrypaws** for reviewing_

Intro: _At the age of ten, rebellious and troublesome Jade Chan had her bags packed and was shipped off to America with Uncle Jackie in the hopes that her English and her behavior would improve. Instead, not only was her English already perfect (years of sneak-watching American Television helped) she found herself catapulted into a dangerous and secret battle against a crime syndicate of the Dark Hand for twelve ancient mystical talismans. In the following two and half years, Jade assists her uncle Demonic Sorcerers, finding the Noble Animals, Oni Masks and lastly as she approached the age of the thirteen, the Demonic Chi Drago coveted._

_Posting Date: September 12, 2012, Wednesday_

* * *

**A Dragon's Perfect Jade**

_Chapter Two: The Consequences of Being Jade_

* * *

_June 14th, London – 8 pm BST* - A Vacation Apartment _

Captain Black knew Jade very well; he had for years. It was an unavoidable side-effect of knowing her uncle, the guy who _could not _for the life of him get Jade to obey orders and stay home. And yet she saved the world, (the day, her uncle, her family, her friends) time after time after time from demons, wizards, mystical puppets, idiot people who tampered with forces that could not be controlled and other various dangers.

She tagged along, she got into trouble just as much as she got out of it. Jackie had saved her as much as she saved him-heck she had even saved _Section 13 _a few times (even though she _did_ take it over once…)

Besides the mishaps, she had a pretty good track for a pre-teen girl. But even heroes—no matter their age—make mistakes. And it was difficult to confront someone when they had a high chance of confronting in return and then somewhere down the line _you_ feel guilty when you know it's _Jade's_ fault not yours.

This was the reason why some things were better sent in letters while the receiver was overseas. Especially if the receiver knew several different ways to land the sender in the hospital and had that way making the sender feel guilty even though he _knew_ he was not to blame. It was unfair but he _really_couldn't fire her to her face – the last three times he had fired her he had ended up hiring her back within two weeks. This time had to be last.

"I've been FIRED _AGAIN!?__ AND THIS TIME IN A LETTER!?"_

Simone Magus jumped as her roommate's astonished shriek rang through the hotel suite. Fortunately, she had long mastered the art of keeping her shock from shocking her work as well; she didn't need this potion to explode in her face.

She wasn't a little girl anymore and she had grown up since the '_Spring-Heeled Jack Incident'_. Her grandparents had gotten wind of the incident and forced their way back into their lives, taking it upon themselves to teach her the arcane magick her mother had forsaken. It hadn't been easy but her family was back together and her life was definitely odder than those of other girls.

Fortunately, Jade was more than happy to be her guide and companion in this insane life that added the additional problems of demons, treasure hunters and Mystics on top of the everyday problems.

Jade stomped up the stairs, slammed the door of Simone's workshop open, brandishing a sheaf of papers in the air over her head. "Captain Black _fired_ me! In a LETTER! While I'm overseas on _vacation!"_

"That's rude." Simone flicked a stray wisp of her behind her ear and made sure her braid was still braided so it wouldn't fall into the cauldron. Her skin was darker than Jade's, being a coffee tone, her wide almond eyes slightly narrower than the Chinese girl's, her dark hair a little longer than it had been when she was eleven. She wore a brown corset under a semi-sheer black blouse and it was matched with a long tiered peasant skirt of dark green. A chain necklace with a silver pentagram within a circle hung around her neck.

"I know! He could have at _least _had the decency to fire me in _person!"_

"If he had fired you in person you could have argued back." Simone pointed out. "Besides, he's fired you three times before."

"But those were in person and he re-hired me within two weeks!"

"Exactly."

Jade scowled – in past years she would have thrown the letter on the ground and stomped on it. "He's really trying to get rid of me this time."

"Maybe...he's avoiding a confrontation."

Jade sighed dramatically, folding her arms across her chest. "I guess I did have it coming..."

Simone nodded, relieved Jade was thinking logically. "But now I'm out of a job!"

"You're an exorcist on the side,"

"Out of a steady job," Jade amended. Their income had just taken a dive and normally his wouldn't be a problem but they needed that money to make even their temporary places of residence 'paranormal-proof and mortal-safe'. Even though of their friends and family _did not _qualify as mere mortals anymore but those innocent people (like delivery people)_were __normal and did _normal things—like delivery services and they did not deserve to be caught in the crossfire involving demons, witches and exorcists.

"Well, what were you fired for this time?" Simone asked. Jade muttered something under her breath. "I'm sorry; I didn't quite catch that."

Jade shuffled through the papers and frowned at them before reading off tiredly. "Expending resources attempting to retrieve the talismans from the Netherworld, numerous cases of property damage, unauthorized access to the vault, use of vehicles, weapons, causing bodily injury to three Section 13 agents-"

Simone held up a hand to forestall the list. "And you _wonder _why you were fired?"

Jade threw up her hands. "It's not like I haven't broken rules before. It's how I get the job done."

"You were a kid then."

Jade frowned and held up the list. "Besides, this list goes back three years before I was even an official agent."

"I'm sure the 'Netherworld Talisman Retrival' project added a lot of strikes against you," Simone said. She remembered that incident vividly and did not wish to repeat one of their juvenile mistakes of their teenage years. Luckily, Jade seemed to have given up on the talismans after that no doubt after she, Paco, James and Simone had been grounded for several weeks. Xu Lin, who had been visiting at the time, had been smart enough to not take part.

"I'm sure there's recent stuff on there,"

"Whose side are you on?" Jade wondered.

"Yours of course." Simone stood, covering her workspace and making note of where she left, off, lest she add the wrong ingredient and the potion explode next time she took it up. "Let's find you a new job."

"But I liked Section Thirteen," Jade said with a sigh.

"But they have too many rules. Besides, you always have more fun when you're on break, exploring the Mystic Realm on your own,"

"That's because Viper comes with us," Jade said. "I still wish she joined Section 13 officially."

"I think I know why she didn't," Simone said, pointing at the letter in Jade's hand before turning back to the shelf of books that covered all four walls of Simone's workroom with spaces here and there for tables and desk. "They have too many rules. Exhibit A." Simone nodded at the sheaf of papers in Jade's hand.

"What are you looking for?"

"The magic directory,"

"Oh!" Jade threw her arm up. "Where's the magic lens? I need to log on to the Maginet,"

"Where's yours?"

Jade looked uncomfortable. "Captain Black may have confiscated it thinking it was dangerous. He had cracked it by the time I stole it back." Simone scowled. "I know," Jade agreed. "So, since I'm out of a steady job, do you have any ideas?

"In the Mystic Realm," Simone finished before she let out an 'ah ha!' of triumph gathering a leather bound book into her arms; it was outlined in gold straps and had a crystal sphere in the center of the cover."Found it! Oh and my magic lens is in the cabinet," She pointed to a covered bookshelf. "And while we're at it, we could visit Xu Lin," Jade's face lit up at that suggestion.

"I haven't seen her in ages!" Jade darted over to the indicated cabinet and carefully retrieved the box in which Simone's magic lens was stored.

"I know. See, there is a bright side. We can move in with Xu Lin or something. We don't even have to go back to the States now. Plus, she's been getting good business in the Mystic can go visit Xu Lin – I bet she knows a bunch of job opportunities. "

Jade nodded absently, walking out of the room and to her own with Simone following. Ruby skipped up the stairs at that moment, tail held high and mewed.

"Yes, I am looking for a different job," Jade sighed, looking down at her cat familiar. Scruffy barked; Jade looked up and spotted the dog carefully dragging the cloth protected laptop along the floor in his jaws.

"Thanks, Scruff," she said, snapping her fingers and allowing the laptop to jump into her hands. "Oh duh - I could have summoned it," Jade scolded herself.

"Don't get _too _dependent on magic," Simone advised, changing directions to the kitchen with Jade and her familiar animals trailing behind her. "In the meantime, I did hear the museum downtown was having some phantom problems." Jade frowned. "Don't give me that face!"

"But the last time the museum had phantom problems, it was just a bunch of kids." Jade pointed out. "I have a right to be wary."

"It's the Tower of London."

"That's not a museum."

"Technically, it is. And the Tower of London has residue magic over it..." Simone knew Jade couldn't resist the pull of mystical historical monuments. Since Uncle had refused to officially teach her magic, Jade had developed the habit of picking up spells from whatever magical discipline she could find, a habit that had grown more pronounced when their attempt to retrieve the talismans from the Netherworld when she was sixteen had failed rather spectacularly.

Jade paused then frowned. "What about job searching?"

"I can look for you. Though the exorcist gig isn't too bad. Anyway, that wizarding family wanted a batch of potions made up before they left town next week and I'm only half way done."

"I wouldn't mind stopping by Magiate* though," Jade said, naming the magic 'capital' of Europe. "Xu Lin has her shop there now, right?"

"That's right,"

"Though if we go anywhere _near _New Camelot*, I will _scream_," Jade warned.

"If we stay away from Avalon, I'm sure it won't be a problem," the young sorceress assured her friend.

Jade rolled her eyes. "Okay, I'm going to exorcist ghosts, I guess. Watch Ruby and Scruffy for me okay?" Ruby bumped into her leg sharply; Jade looked down and the cat narrowed her eyes disapprovingly.

"Fine you can come,"

As if on cue, Scruffy barked from the living room. "What pushy familiars, I have... Get your leash,"

Scruffy barked happily and dashed off to retrieve it.

* * *

_1:00 AM BST - London_

A strange light mist seeped through the apartment, curling around the sleeping young adults.

Simone's room and equipment were all packed as well-only a cot remained and Simone curled up into a ball under her blankets with Jade's cat Ruby curled into her side, the mist wrapping around her head and fluttering away as she breathed it in.

Only Jade was awake. Back from her nightly exercises on the beach after a long day of phantom hunting, she stealthily climbed to the balcony outside of her bedroom hand over hand via rope and flipped acrobatically onto the balcony. She stretched with a sigh and pulled the rope up.

Her and Simone's hotel suite was just one of the seaside houses with their rears facing the clean beaches. The large full moon shone down on the deserted beach; the chill and the soft patter of rain was enough to keep anyone inside. It seemed like all was peaceful; the sea breeze blew off the ocean and the tides crashed against the sand.

Scruffy stretched across Jade's bed, laid out his back, whimpering as a crush of blue mist invaded his nose. A few growls and paw tsorceresses later, he was still, the mist gone.

Jade turned away from the view and sat down heavily on the chair. The closet and dresser drawers were completely bare and not one trace of the mist that had invaded the other rooms was in her room; the door was firmly closed. Her eyes adjusted to the dark, assisted by the silver moonlight streaming through the curtains. Scruffy was curled up in the center of the bed. She frowned. Great. Now she'd have to fight him for it or sleep or the floor.

The balcony door was opened a crack, the curtains half-drawn, allowing the sea breeze to flow in. As Jade stood, walking to the closet, she didn't notice the dark shadow that hung over the balcony door, red eyes peering over the edge, watching through the glass.

The twin scarlet orbs never left the young woman as she pulled off her black tee-shirt and pants revealing a dark blue sports-bra underneath and black bike shorts.

Jade threw her boots in the closet carelessly. As she stretched, she froze and the dark shadow outside the window stiffened.

She was getting the feeling she was being watched...

As she walked out to the balcony, the dark shadow quickly moved soundlessly away from her line of sight. It moved soundlessly to the shadows below the neighboring balcony above and to the left of Jade's so he could see from a side view. The tail curled to avoid notice and scarlet orbs watched the small female martial artist scan the horizon and the ocean's calm waves. What skin that had been left exposed was mouthwatering; the moonlight slid over golden-cream skin shadowed by black fabric.

"Jade...you are far too enticing for your own good," the shadow muttered under his breath in an echoing growl as she walked back inside and he was allowed to return to his original spot above her door.

Jade stood before the open door for a moment, her amber-orbs turned to the balcony, eyes narrowed. "Maybe I'm imagining things," she thought shrewdly with a sigh, turning away from the window even as she slid it shut but left it cracked open.

Fangs glimmered in the night as the shadow chooses this moment to slowly crawl down the wall, using the tail to lower himself. His shadow was silhouetted in the light of the full moon, scarlet orbs glinting, and claws gripping the door frame.

Jade froze, shivers running through her as a creeping dread settled over her. _If Uncle gets willies from Demon Sorcerers and Tohru from the Oni...what gives __**me **__the willies?_

With a gasp, Jade whirled around, her amber eyes suddenly locking with brilliant orbs of demonic scarlet as a voice that was burned into her brain, one she never thought she hear again, slid out of a scaly throat, laced with menaced teasing friendliness; a tone she knew all too well.

"_No_…."

"Hello, Jaaade," Fangs glimmered in a deadly smile.

* * *

_**So...what do you think? :D**_

_**A/N:** I've decided that through seasons 1-5, 2 and half years passed. Therefore, roughly seven years have passed since Season 5. Please take into account those years and remember that many things could have happened between the series end and the timeline of this story._

_BST - British Summer Time_

_Many myths of the world are actually true (in this reality anyway) This world is referred to by a number of names - the Mystic Realm(s), Magical Underworld, the Otherworld._

_The Otherworld - the other 'reality' layered over Earth. It is constant contact with the Earth which is where many of the Mortal myths come from. It is separated from Earth but at times the Otherworld shows through to Earth, releasing Otherworlders onto the Mortal Plain. In modern times, the Veil which separates Earth from the Otherworld has grown stronger, leaving most humans to believe that all those stories are just stories but some know better._

_Magiate - center of European Magick, the European Gateway to the Otherworld where Avalon and mystical cities/countries exists_

_Avalon: exists in the Otherworld though in past times it showed up on Earth before the Veil was strengthened_

_New Camelot: exactly what it says on the tin_


	3. For Old Time's Sake

**Disclaimer: **_I claim no right of sale or copyright. This belongs to the original creators - I'm just playing in their sandbox_

_After being fired from Section Thirteen for numerous violations, nineteen year old Jade Chan questions what her next move should be...but there are times when the choice is taken from our hands when unexpected developments forces one's life to change course._

_Posted: September 20, 2012, Thursday_

* * *

**A Dragon's Perfect Jade**

Chapter 3: For Old Time's Sake

* * *

"Drago!"Jade unfroze, her hand shooting out instinctively but the young dragon was faster; he flipped to his feet and landed right in front of her, tripping her up with a quick swing of his tail.

"Oof!" She hit the floor on her back, glaring up at him.

"Come on, Jade, is that how you greet an old friend?" he crooned, crossing his arms. He was almost exactly as she remembered him from before he had absorbed all the demon chi powers; same gray and black clothes, same scales. The only thing different was the patch of ruby red scales on his right forearm.

"We were never friends, Drago!" she snapped, flipping to her feet and slamming right into his chest, sending Drago stumbling back into the railing. It dented from the weight. "So get lost!"

Drago flipped over the railing, gripping it with his claws as he rested on the microscopic ledge beyond it. He sighed but grinned; after all this one of his favorite games.

"You're not very nice," he observed.

"I noticed." Jade slammed a palm strike to his nose, stunning him. His hands lifted off the railing unconsciously and Jade took the opportunity to delivering a jab-cross to the face. Drago's claw curled around her wrist as he tumbled, pulling her down with him. He pushed off and away from the balcony, crashing to the beach sands below back first.

Jade snarled and twisted out of his hold, skipping back several feet and falling into a ready battle stance. He rose from the sand, laughing his echoing laugh, arms spread as if embracing the skies.

"You're always full of surprises, Jade Chan!" he chuckled, his tail slowly swishing through the air. "If it wasn't for you, the world would be mine right now,"

"So is that why you came back?" Jade demanded. "Revenge?"

"I'd say no but I don't think you'd believe me," he replied, chuckling darkly as he took his usual fighting stance, open palm out in front his face, other close to his chest. "Whaddayah say, kid? Just for old time's sake?"

Jade narrowed her eyes. Something was off here...

She had helped her two uncles and Tohru stop Drago from getting the immortal artifacts time and again and she'd helped defeat his father, aunts and uncles. Drago should be spitting mad. He should want to roast her alive.

"What's your deal Drago?" she asked, her voice more mature and deeper than in her younger days as a demon hunter. "Why are you back here? How _did_ you get back?"

"Isn't that the question?" He smiled faintly before the smile was gone and his eyes narrowed to slits. "Come, Jade..." he shot forward, claw extended. "Fight back!" Her block slipped and his first strike landed hard on her left shoulder.

She cried out in pain and threw her other arm up in a shield block as his other claw swung around and she launched a snap kick to his stomach. He stumbled back then swung his tail, forcing her to jump over it and counter with an aerial snap kick that cracked into his face. He skidded off to the side, wincing.

"You've gotten a lot stronger, Jade," he grinned. "A _lot_ stronger than your old man even. Are you cheating?"

"You wish."

Drago flipped backwards to avoid Jade's punch and caught her hand with his tail. He grinned at her as her eyes widened and he flipped over his head. She landed cat-like in a crouch and spun around with a lashing kick that brought Drago down back first and he was surprise to see the young martial artist hovering over him with sharp blade.

"Well, there's a surprise. Where did you get that dagger, Amber?"

Jade looked shocked. "What did you call me?"

"Amber." He smirked. "Your eyes are amber or haven't you noticed?"

"Since when do you notice the color of my eyes?"

"I_am_staring at them right now, since you are pinning me down," he pointed out sounding mischievous.

He had managed to completely throw her off with just a few sentences; that hadn't happened before! She shook her head. "That's not the point, scale face; why are you here?"

"If I said 'to ask for your help' what would you say?"

Jade gaped. "WHAT?!"

He nodded sagely. "Thought so,"

"If you haven't noticed, we're mortal enemies!"

"Things change, Jade," he chuckled, staring into her face. "Especially you,"

She blinked, staring at him, completely floored. She doubted Jackie had ever needed to deal with this type of thing.

She jerked as Drago's claws suddenly raked lightly through her hair but before she could do anything, she felt a tight coil wrap around her waist and she suddenly found herself yanked through the air and landing on the sand back first, staring up at stars.

"Wha-?"

"I think I'll let you absorb all this," Drago grinned, looming over her. His muscular, draconic form was blocking the stars as his tail flicked around her face almost affectionately. Growling, she snapped with her teeth. He chuckled. "What are you, a cat? I'll be around."

And suddenly, with a brief flash of fire, he was gone. She blinked, sitting up as she scanned the scenery; nothing.

"This is just _perfect_." Jade sighed, rising to her feet.

* * *

Drago emerged into the mortal plain in a beach cave, reasonably far from the tides. His arrival sent the crabs and smaller ocean creatures, scurrying for cover-turtles struggled to burrow under the sand. Drago growled, plucking several from the sand in a swift movement and splitting their shells, gulping down the tender meat inside. Hungry and casting aside pride, he momentarily sated his hunger with the turtles and with crabs not fast enough to evade his hunt for sustenance.

At least it was better than the junkyard he use to crash in. As he crushed the crab shells, looking for the meat, he sat down on a nearby flat rock and glanced at the patch of shimmering ruby-red scales on his arm, narrowing his eyes.

_Never trust a wizard...guess I'll remember that now._

But Jade, even though _she_ wasn't a wizard/mage, whatever they called themselves, has a family of wizards and _friends_ who were wizards. Could he trust _them?_

_I'm in a bigger mess than I thought..._

But he couldn't let that witch get her greedy hands on the dragon's treasure _or_ on his heartfire. If anything, he was sure Jade and her allies wouldn't want powerful artifacts falling into evil hands.

_I need help..._

As much as he hated to admit it, he did need help. A human ally who could understand how other humans worked. He had more experience with humans in their world than his relations had since they still saw the humans as subservient and Drago had always seen them as who they were _- _humans who believed they had something worth fighting for.

No one likes an easy fight.

_"Yo, dude. You've seen the rest. Now eyeball the best!"_

Strikemaster Ice. What a ridiculous name but there was no doubt that he _was _a human-and one of the few he knew personally who wasn't an enemy. (Though he_had _tried to usurp him once...)

Drago rubbed the patch of ruby-red scales on his arm, grimacing.

At this point, Strikemaster Ice was probably his best bet.

* * *

Jade and Simone's Apartment; 1:23 AM - BST*

* * *

Jade cracked open her bedroom door and coughed as blue mist immediately swarmed into her room. Jade covered her mouth, eyes watering.

_Drago must've put the others to sleep._

Jade slammed the door shut and dove for her weapons bag by the door, drawing a pair of iron fans - _tiě shàn - _from the side pocket. They were made of a sharp but light metal she had found on a mission, each inscribed with red Chinese characters on the blue fabric. They shimmered green against the fan's fabric as she opened the door again and stepped into the hallway, holding her breath as she waved the mist away with sweeps of the fans, slowly, dissolving it. Slowly, she took in breaths of air clear of dream mists, making her way to Simone's room.

* * *

A San Francisco Apartment, 5:26 PM PDT* - June 13th

* * *

The shades of the apartment were completely drawn into an effort to block out the late afternoon light.

Strikemaster Ice, older, darker and thicker in the body, less gangly and dark blonde hair and a smoother face, lay draped across his couch, curled under a thin blanket with the air conditioning turned up to arctic cold, piles of discarded letters strewn across the coffee table.

Pizza boxes were stacked by the front door and a delivery uniform had been tossed carelessly over a chair near the mountain bike and skateboard. The living room is connected to the kitchen, separated only by the kitchen's breakfast nook. The bathroom is on the other side of the apartment across from the kitchenette. There is an opening closet next to it but no bedroom. The TV is still on-muted, flashing colors across his sleeping face and the window is cracked open slightly letting in the hot air that came from being in an apartment stuffed between two buildings and the sunlight that was struggle through. A portable video game lay on the floor beneath his hand.

The window creaked as a clawed hand curled under the ledge and pushed the half open window upwards. Immediately, Ice came awake throwing off blankets and hitting the floor in a battle stance, balanced, arms raised. Drago slipped through the window, amused as Ice dragged himself from the depths of slumber. Drago looked down at one of the discarded pieces of mail.

"Your name's Damon Frost?"

Ice squinted into the darkness. "Drago?"he said slowly. "Is that you?"

Drago chuckled darkly. "In the scales."

Despite his sleepily state, Ice flared. "Look, yo, I ain't helpin' you take over the world ag'in! I just got out of prison a few months ago and I ain't goin' back!"

"I know." Drago said, calmly, glancing around his former henchman's apartment with a critical eye.

Ice looked at him warily. "How'd you get out anyway?"

"Where's the other two?" Drago said, deliberately avoiding the question

"We split up." Ice said shortly. "And-"

Drago waved a dismissive hand - not that he could _blame_ Ice for his suspicions as to his motivation but still. He wasn't in the mood. "I'm not trying to take over the world again."

Ice cautiously relaxed his stance. "You're not?" He did not sound inclined to believe him.

Drago shook his head and lifted his left arm, displaying the ruby-red scales running from wrist joint to his elbow.

"Whoa, dude." Ice exclaimed, eyes widening as he stepped forward involuntarily. "That is a_nasty_ burn."

"It's not a burn." Drago explained darkly. "A witch did this to me."

"Wait, how did you get out in the first place? !"

"I'm about to tell you. I made a mistake-I made a deal with a witch."

"And...she did that to you?" Ice nodded at the ruby patch of scales.

"Yup. I need help."

"Nawh. Nope." Ice stood, wincing about his shoulder. "You don't go busting into people's private apartments! It's just plain rude! How did you-"

Drago pointed to his eyes. "You had my chi once. I can track you anywhere."

Former boss and former henchman stared each other down for a moment - Drago smugly and Ice with a mix of fascination and horror. Finally, his stomach growled and the disgraced martial artist made his way to the kitchenette. "Great - I've got a demon GPS on me,"

"You're the one who ask for the gig, Ice."

"It's just Damon now."

"Damon...how appropriate." Drago grinned.

Damon threw a glare over his shoulder. "Just been trying to piece my life together...last thing I need is you coming back and screw it up!"

"Oh, it looks like you're doing _fabulously_." Drago sneered, glancing around and spotting the pizza delivery uniform. "You've really pick a winning job."

"It's hard to get a job when you've been in prison. And I _ain't_ about to go crawling to the Chans like those 'Enforcer' freaks! I got my pride."

Drago laughed. "I would kill myself before going to the Chans for help," he admitted. _Jade being the exception. _"The Chan girl works in the Mystic Realm-you could be a bounty hunter." Drago poked at the pizza boy uniform. "You'd get more out of it and they don't care if you got sent to a human prison."

Dragon took out a box of cereal and turned to Drago. "Why are you being helpful?"

Drago shrugged. "I've been in prison too, you know."

"The Demon Netherworld?"

"Yup. And since all the portals all sealed, the only way out is to make a deal with a summoner-type wizard or witch."

"So... why are you in my house?"

Drago leaped onto the breakfast nook and landed in a crouch, tail sweeping the air. "This isn't a 'world take over' gig. No, I'm liable to get all the demon hunters gunning for me and that's not something I need. No, I have a different problem."

Damon retrieved some milk and a bowl for himself, kicking the door shut. "And what makes you think I'll help you?"

Damon stumbled as Drago suddenly invaded his personal space, crimson eyes narrowed to slits. "Because this witch is after something belonging to dragons and your little boring life is going to go to hell _real_ fast, unless you help me stop her."

* * *

**PDT:** Pacific Daylight Time

England is 6 or 7 hours ahead of the United States

Damon Frost - I decided Strikemaster Ice needed an official name not a codename/callsign/whatever

_tiě shàn - Chinese iron fans_


	4. Orchestrating Plans

**Disclaimer: **_I claim no right of sale or copyright. This belongs to the original creators - I'm just playing in their sandbox_

_Thanks to **LexiLopez, Alana Fox, XxShadowfangxX, bunnyrabbit.123, Crystal Peak and ninjaPARTY** for reviewing_

_Posting Date: Wednesday, September 26, 2012 _

_I had to rewrite this a bit and now I have to go adjust the chapter after this... ENJOY!_

* * *

**A Dragon's Perfect Jade**

**Chapter Four: Orchestrating Plans**

* * *

3:00 am PDT - June 15th, San Francisco

"How is this boat suppose to get us to a magickal island?" Damon asked as the shores of Alcatraz Island receded into the distance. Glamors were beginning to fall and Damon looked at a short elf out of the corner of his eye tracing magick circles in the air. Humans - mostly of the armed or magickal variety mingled with the Demi-humans and werebeasts who were also in evidence.

Damon wore a black sweater over his dark green cargo pants and sleeveless turtleneck, a large travel backpack slung onto his back

A ripple of fire announced the dispelling of Drago's 'see me not' glamor but none of the passengers flinched except for a mage's open admiration of the technique but criticizing the tell-tale flames.

Drago glared at the mage over his shoulder. The mage shut up immediately and Drago turned his attention back to his reluctant human companion. "Because it's a magick boat," Drago mocked.

Damon rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe he'd actually agreed to this.

There was a slight chiming of the bell, calling the attention of the passengers. Drago and Damon turned to face the captain, a sturdy looking mage carrying a staff and standing on a floating slab of wood.

"Welcome passengers! May I congratulate you all on making it through the trials of the mortal world."

Chuckles and laughter rippled through the passengers. "Now, this boat will be stopping at all sea-based magickal areas around the world. If anyone needs to land at a mortal point, please don't hesitate to tell me and we'll see what we can do. First a few rules," He secured his staff to his back and flicked his hand, conjuring a scroll out of the air which dropped into his hand.

He unrolled it, clearing his throat. "Firstly - I do not discriminate against people on my ship be they human seeking asylum, vampire, demon or otherwise. All I ask is that you treat all fellows passengers with respect. All grudge matches must settled on shore. Secondly, please no combat magick on the boat and no potion making. I've had several workshop accidents take out my hull and I rather not have to calm down the merfolk again,"

Another ripple of laughter followed. "Thirdly, as fellow passengers we hold each other's lives in our hands. If I request help during say a storm, I would most grateful if you provide assistance. In fact, it's in the contract you signed before boarding. That's also the reason for the low price. I have a small crew to maintenance the magickal and the manual aspects but I'd like to form bonds of trust on my ship. And lastly - please enjoy the voyage. We have several bunks for your use but you will have a roommate or several. My first mate -" he gestured to an Elven woman standing on the deck below his 'podium'. " - Will arrange your sleep accommodations."

* * *

_12: 35 pm PDT - June 15th_

The deck rolled under their feet but the tables were secured to the deck and the water spray was most deflected by the magickal wards.

Damon savored the unexpectedly good food served by the crews cooks as the other passengers talked among themselves.

"There you are," Damon looked up at Drago as he walked up to him, a scroll clutched in his clawed hand*.

"I was trying to forget you existed," Damon said dryly. "Can't you give me that much?"

"You could have said no." Drago shrugged. Damon gave him a deadpan look.

"If you recall, you didn't give me much of an option," And to be honest, if it had been anyone but Drago (excluding the Chans), he would have jumped at the chance to get back into the paranormal. Most of the human population believed that magickal artifacts and demons and mystics didn't exist, served only as boogieman or stories to scare children with. But despite the shaky ground he stood with his old boss, he had to admit he was much more interesting to hang out with than DJ Fist or MC Cobra. They were good minions sure but they got a little boring after awhile.

Drago just gave him a fanged grin and sat down uninvited. "Face it - after fighting alongside demons for mystical artifacts, mortal life is...boring."

"I'll give you that much," Damon said, taking a sip of the drink the waitress had suggested. It was like nothing he had ever tasted - it had a soup like thickness but it tasted like savory chocolate. "So, when are we getting there?"

"When we past Hawaii, we'll come to the first portal that will take us to the Philippines," Drago said. "Then it's a route around the Indian Sea, another portal to the Mediterranean and then last stop is the waters near the British Isles,"

"You couldn't get a faster boat?"

"We need to make a few stops before we track down Jade again anyway,"

"I can't believe you want help from the pipsqueak," Damon muttered, spearing a sausage-like meat with his fork.

"Here, look," Drago said, unrolling a parchment map. "It's flameproof."he said in reply to the raised eyebrow. "These are the coastal towns of Magiate" he pointed to a line of towns along the northern coast of the island with a claw. "The farther in you get, the less 'modern' it is. More villages, more fairies and stuff. We don't really care about the inner sanctum of the island – Jade is going to go to the town,"

"...How do you know this?"

"Know your enemy," Drago said. "I know she would go there - it's where most of the mystic humans go anyway. But I don't know why she's going there. I have a lead on the sorceress. I'll follow it and find you. You find Jade,"

Damon pounded the table with his fist. "Hang on, I thought we agreed that asking the Chans for help was a stupid idea!"

"Did the little girl, **ever **listen to her uncles?"

Damon thought about it. "No,"

"Exactly. Find Jade, find her friends. Those stupid old men would never listen but **she **will."

"You better be right about this,"

Damon expected a boast of confidence but Drago looked down, claws curled against the map, lost in thought.

* * *

_Magiate Island - June 20th, - 3:13 pm BST*_

_(Somewhere West of Ireland)_

To human minds, it didn't exist. To human maps, it was uncharted. To human eyes, boats that ventured near it were never seen again, swallowed by mists.

It still amazed Jade how she and her uncles managed to chase demons, evil mystics and enchanted masks all over the world how they _never _seemed to seem to stumble on the Mystic Realm. Okay, maybe they did – there _had_ been a number of people after mystical artifacts but they had never really taken the time to dig into the community part of it.

But then again, Uncle Jackie had never _really _wanted anything to do with magick.

The Mystic Pub they were in now had a direct entrance in an abandoned warehouse in a sketchy area of a tiny Irish town. It was a shortcut for those who didn't feel like taking a boat out to the hidden island of Magiate.

The surface of Magiate Isle looked like a beast-infested jungle death trap to mundanes* but the Hidden City-State of Arcana nestled within the island's mountains, tunnels and jungles was the exact opposite of a death trap. Mystic humans, creatures and beings alike bargained and sold goods, walking along the walkways and wide roads of the Arcana Catacombs beneath the city. The tunnels were lit by bright floating fairy lights that hovered through the air, chiming.

The pub itself was three levels and had a massive amount of floor space – it couldn't be accurately described as a pub. There was a bar that ringed the entire perimeter of the first level, excluding the wall with the door and the central floor was neatly lined with tables.

"I can't believe the _nerve_ of that dragon!" Simone's voice was angry hiss in the dimly lit place. She was scribbled notes in her workbook furiously as Jade snipped at her ale and looked at the map of Magiate spread out before them on the table. "Waltzes into our place, puts me to sleep...!"

"That's why we cleared out," Jade said, her voice dull.

Simone looked up at Jade, worried. "Are you okay?"

Jade rubbed her eyes; they were red-rimmed, she had bags under her eyes and the shining amber was dulled from lack of proper sleep. "Not really."

Simone frowned. Jade had been tense even since she forcibly shaken Simone awake and _insisted_ they leave London immediately. They'd left their bill in the manager's office with a note and hung out at the train station until the train arrived while Jade explained to Simone the reason for their abrupt departure.

It was a good thing she'd finished that potion order while Jade had been out. They'd taken trains back and forth and taken a boat then a portal to reach the Hidden Island, hopping to throw Drago off, should he attempt to follow but Jade hadn't slept much – she'd jump awake every few hours, eyes wide and darting.

Shaking herself out of the memory, Simone looked at Jade thoughtfully. "Maybe...we should call more than Xu Lin?"

"Not Jackie,"

"Not Jackie, not the J-Team," Simone agreed. "I think...well, Drago's making you jumpy,"

"It's not Drago, exactly. I'd get the willies,"

"You mean...that creepy feeling Tohru and Uncle got when there were Chinese or Japanese demons around?"

"Yeah. It's not Drago giving me nightmares, exactly,"

"What do you mean _exactly?_"

Jade shrugged. "I'll let you know when I sort it out. In the meantime, do you have some of that sweetdream stuff?"

"Why not the Nightmare Shade?"

"I think the nightmares are important – I need to stay asleep to see the whole thing,"

"Yeah I have some," Simone said digging in her magick bag and producing a magick bottle filled with a cloudy substance.

"I just wish I knew how he got back..." Jade muttered, taking the bottle absently. "It was so _weird _– he wasn't even _trying _to kill me,"

Simone patted her friend's back reassuringly. "Don't worry - we'll figure out what he wants,"

_That's the thing...has Drago ever outright lied to us? What if he's telling the truth and he really does need help? Does it have something to do with the red scales on his arm?_

* * *

_Magiate Island - Off the Coast - 3: 23 pm BST - June 20th_

"It doesn't really look all that impressive," Damon said dryly from the bowsprint. The island looked rather untamed and dangerous actually and the sun would have rendered him blind awhile ago if he hadn't put on the black mirror shades he had brought along.

"That's _point_," Drago reprimanded.

"Couldn't you have jus' used yer fire teleportation to pop here instead of dragging us all 'round Asia?" Damon asked, sounding bored.

"Magickal barrier," Drago said. "But now that we're close, I can. Besides, you wouldn't have those balisongs if we didn't make stops,"

Damon chose to ignore that fact. "And what am I suppose to do?"

Drago shrugged. "Look around, try to convince I'm not going to charboil her," Damon fixated him with a Look from behind his sunshades. "You're a human,"

"An' dis automatically makes me the perfect middle-man?"

"You're the only human I know who won't attack, try to kill me on sight, or run away and actually speaks," Drago shrugged.

"Lucky me,"

"Attention passengers! We'll be arriving at the Cove shortly! Please gather your things; we bear no responsibility for their return if you leave them behind!"

"I'll find you later," Drago said, disappearing a in flash of fire.

"Show off,"

* * *

"I need to pick up something I order a few weeks ago," Jade explained as they exited the pub. "You mind watching Ruby and Scruffy for awhile?"

"Of course not. You know I love these guys," Simone said. "Another magickal artifact?"

"No - remember those wristbands we found in that Mayan temple in Mexico?"

"The wristbands Paco _gave _you in Mexico?" Simone said, smiling. Jade fixated her friend with a dead-pan look.

"If you start that up again, I will drop-kick you,"

"No you won't."

Jade rolled her eyes. "Anyway, they were broken but the spells engraved on them looked interesting so I dropped them off here for some restoration. They should be ready now. And if Drago's back, I'd like all the firepower I can get."

"Okay. I'll be on Witches' Lane if you need me," Simone said.

* * *

_Leprechaun Wonderworks - Exorcist Lane - 3: 45 pm BST_

Jade peered into the shop cautiously as the door jingled and smiled in relief. There were only a few customers here today. A warm light filled the store due to the many floating lanterns flickering with kerosene. Wooden toys and pendants hung from the rafters, symbols carved into the wood spell it against fire. Shelves lined the walls, their wares neatly arranged. The counter stood in the back, stretching from wall to wall. On either side of the counter were swinging doors leading to the back.

"Here, you are a nice ever-burning lamp! Perfect for scaring those nightmares away and keeping the shades away!" The Leprechaun clerk accepted a handful of copper coins from the human girl and handing her a wrapped package.

"Thank you," the girl said brightly. "Have good day!"

She skipped out of the shop and Jade let her pass.

"Jade, I haven't seen you in ages!" The Leprechaun girl waved furiously from the counter.

"Hey, Alva," Jade greeted. The Leprechaun girl was the same height Jade had been when she was ten or so but unlike Santa's Northern Elves with small blue eyes, Alva had large ones like Jade's the color of stars. Her blonde hair was done up in a curly ponytail, showing off her long leaf-shaped ears. A pair of glasses perched on her nose. She wore a green tunic over a pair of breeches, allowing her to move easily. "How are you?"

"Fantastic! Business is great, the island's at peace and exorcists like you are taking care of all those annoying ghouls who give us bad names. And you?"

"Dealing with ghouls as usual," Jade said wryly. "Hey do you have my order ready?"

"Oh!" the elf threw her hands up. "Of course, of course how could I forget? Come in the back. Order book!" a book flew from the shelf into her hand as Jade jumped over the counter and maneuvered through the worktables and shelves after Alva.

"It was a great piece of work, those wristbands," Alva enthused. "The magick was _ancient_! You'll get a good mileage out of it, I guarantee it!"

"So, what do the wristbands _do?"_

_"_Well, according to our historians and linguists, they have the symbol of the feathery flying serpent...I forget his name..."

"Quetzalcoatl?" Jade guessed, with a wry grin. Well, this was ironic. When they had accidentally brought a statue of Quetzalcoatl to life, he had mistaken her for a Mayan Goddess with an equally complicated name (Cihuacoatl) wanted to fly her into the sun to spread good magick across the Earth to stave off the forces of darkness and then ended up protecting her anyway even after he realized she was not Cihuacoatl.

"Yes, that one! The wristbands will shed light, detect dark forces and make things grow!"

"Aw, no sun blasts? Do they let me fly?" Jade asked.

"Uh...I don't think so..." Alva said, opening the door to the rear workshop.

Jade laughed. "Just asking. He is the God of the Sun, Sky and Agriculture, I just thought flight would be included,"

"God?"

"Well, according to the Mayans," Jade amended.

"Jade, welcome back!" Another elf appeared with a wooden case smiling brightly. "Here for your restoration order for the Wristbands of the Plumed Serpent, I presume."

"Wow, talk about a mouthful," Jade commented as the elf opened the case, revealing a pair of silver wristbands with blue-white stones* embedded around the body of the winged serpent.

"That'll be 10 drachma to cover the full cost of twenty drachma,"

"Same era as before right? Reign of Alexander the Great," Jade produced a large coin. "Will tetradrachma do?"

"Of course,"

"Perfect. Hey does this include flight?"

The head leprechaun blinked. "Not that I'm aware...but we did provide a guide..."

Jade rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Valsa."

* * *

Strikemaster Ice/Damon sighed in relief and jumped down from the rooftops onto a balcony, stretching his arms over his head. This was nice – he hadn't had a real workout since the Chan clan threw him in prison.

This mystic island was definitely not what he had expected. It looked like a hostile jungle from the outside but the inside was a mash of historical eras and cultures, a series of towns and villages connected by roads and called a city with patches of forest everywhere like whoever built it probably had no idea how to build a proper city.

"Hey you!" Damon was jolted out of his thoughts by the sound of an angry voice close by. He jumped, grabbing a ledge above him and effortlessly climbing back on the rooftops.

"Get off my balcony!"

"Not interested in stealing," Ice called. "Just using the high roads!" He leaped to the next rooftop, effortlessly landing in a crouch and rolling to his feet. He paused to secure his satchel to his back and dashed across the rooftops.

It was a way to take in the town but some of the jumps made him wish for the days when he was part-dragon. But he had too much pride to beg them off Drago and he hadn't offered. Damon paused on the rooftop of a shop and pulled out the guidebook he had brought at port, sacrificing one of his Chinese souvenirs for it since he had no money they would accept. It would have been nice if Drago _told _him about their bizarre currency.

Of course, the guidebook was magicked and folded out a full-page map. Damon scowled at the strange letters. "How can this _guide _me anywhere if it isn't even English?!"

The characters shimmered and shifted around, forming English lettering. "Oh, that's better." _Drago did mention I could get bounty jobs_ _here..._

Damon spotted a movement down below and snuck over to the parapet of the rooftop; wasn't that the Chan girl's dog? He had only seen it once but Drago described her familiar animals and her partner in vivid detail, practicing with his mastery of fire-images.

_Or I can follow them_. Damon decided, jumping over the parapet. _I just have to stay far enough back that the animals don't pick up on me._

* * *

_Magiate Island - City of Arcana - the Catacombs - 4: 05 pm_

Jade dropped effortlessly into the tunnels below the city proper and took a moment to put on both Quetzalcoatl wristbands before stowing the box back in her backpack. A few imps and humans were wandering the tunnels and paid her no attention - this was a common enough road to avoid the hustle and bustle of the more crowded city-streets. Several shop stalls were set up down here. Jade pulled her magick compass out of her pocket and pressed a copy of Simone's pendant into the rounded space in the back.

As she took a single step, a chill suddenly rippled over her skin, sending shivers down her spine as the familiar but uncomfortable creeping dread filled her and she froze. "I'm beginning to hate the willies..." she muttered, eyes darting around as she turned on the spot. The dark opening of the nearest tunnel taunted her and another chill went through her,

"On the other hand..." Jade muttered as she turned to the gaping darkened archway. "My most hated sense is worth paying attention to." She stepped into the darkened arch, feeling immediately consumed by the darkness that pressed in on her, nearly squeezing the breath out of her lungs. The Quetzalcoatl wristband began to glow, lending her light to see by. The way was lit by occasional torch as she wandered the dark halls.

"I'm beginning to hate dark places..." Jade muttered, turning another corner. "And I'm _so_ gonna get lost in here,"

"_Lái ba, fěicuì, nǐ bùxiǎng yào duō dǎ yīxiē?"_ a voice echoed. _"Come on, Jade, do you wanna play some more?"_ Jade whirled around; why was this place suddenly a very lonely feeling place? More lonely and ominous than before? The wind rushed through the tunnels of bone, the suddenly very empty halls, emphasizing the unexpected loneliness.

Drago was standing a distance away at the end of the hall, lounging casually against the walls, arms and legs crossed, tail swishing slowly through the air.

"Drago. So you did track me to Magiate,"

"I can find you anywhere I'd like," he grinned, fangs glimmering in the dark.

"Why are you here?" she demanded, choosing not to acknowledge how very creepy his words had sounded.

"I told you before Jade..." he murmured, stalking towards her. "To ask for your help,"

"Why would my worst enemy need my help?"

"Because maybe I'm not." he replied in his echoing growl. Jade blinked, gasping as his scaled form suddenly crowded in on her, looming over her; when had he gotten so damn tall? He was invading her invisible personal bubble. "Your worst enemy, that is. Maybe you have other enemies."

"Like who exactly?" she demanded, taking a few steps back, not caring about the complete darkness that surrounded them.

Drago only looked amused and didn't move from his spot. "I'm sure you can think of someone - you _do _have a lot of enemies,"

"And I suppose you want to get the honor of killing me first?"

Drago seemed to be fond of crowding her space without actually moving; he was looming over her again - how did he move so subtly? He was leering, a glint in his eyes as he circled her, forcing her to move in the same direction. "I've always thought you were smarter than your uncles Jade," he sighed, sounding weary. "Don't prove me wrong. I never _really _wanted to kill you; I could have dusted off my dad's dragon minion spell and wiped out that little shop while they slept. I could've done a lot of things. I could have altered time, if I wanted. But I didn't."

Jade was still cautious. "Forgive me for not trusting you!" she snapped. "You nearly turned my uncles into charbroiled skishabobs, nearly dropped Uncle off a bridge, nearly wiped out Section Thirteen in the future and nearly took over the world!"

"Notice there's a lot of nearlys in that sentence," Drago pointed out with a fanged smirk. "And what annoying mortal always got in my way?"

"Jackie." Her hand stretched out behind her to look any obstacles and brushed against a wall. Where had that wall come from? She gulped, staring into Drago's twin orbs, now shimmering with steaming frustration as she stopping moving, resisting the urge to step away from him, knowing that wall + Drago= bad odds.

"_Báichī." _He vanished, leaving Jade blinking into the dark until she felt something muscular and scaly wrapping around her waist. Her hair stood on end as her mouth opened, unable to produce sound in her shock as clawed hands pulled her into a muscular body, wrapping his arms around her.

Jade felt heat rush over her skin and it wasn't from Drago's scales. What was he planning to do anyway? And how did he do that? "You know...Jade. You're being to _really _get on my nerves," His voice was low and hoarse as his claws tightened around her arms. "Your pathetic uncle is nothing without his niece or his team! He can't stand on his own two feet!"

"That's not true!"

"It is true!" Drago bellowed. "How many times have you saved the world while that so-called martial artist was trying to keep you in a box? How many times have you saved him?" Jade froze, eyes dim in her shock. "How many times have you gotten in my way and lived?" Drago growled. _"Every_ time,"

Jade squirmed violently and bit down hard on his arm. Drago reeled back in shock, putting space between them; Jade dropped down and rolled out of the way, getting away from the wall and popping back to her feet.

"When you broke out of Section 13, you tried to barbecued me and kill me with a car!"

Drago shrugged. "Your uncle saved you didn't he?"

"Ha, see!"

"But without you, he wouldn't even have lived past my dad,"

"Are you here to kill me or sing my praises?" Jade scolded, clenching her fist and feeling one of the wristbands grow hot. "Back off, Gecko Boy!" A burst of heated light erupted from the wristband, sending Drago flying backwards away from Jade.

"Oh, I do get sunblasts," Jade said but frowned upon sending the gems set in the wristbands grow dim.

Drago growled. "You're not being very cooperative,"

"Why would I be?" she asked, slipping on the other wristband as Drago lifted a claw enshrouded in blue fire. "Sunflare of Quetzalcoatl!"

Drago cartwheeled out of the way as a burst of yellow-white fire burned through the floor where he had stood and the other gems went dark. "Okay, you're not in the mood for talking," he sighed. "I can understand that." He arced his claws through the air shrouding himself in blue fire and he was gone.

_Blue fire_?

"Nice trinkets by the way," Drago growled behind her. Jade whirled but all that was left was the sound of his laughter.

* * *

_Author's Notes and Comments:_

Mundanes - normal humans

Leprechauns -are the underground dwelling Elf tribe of the Faerie Families. They make a living through shoemaking, mining and an assortment of other crafting trades. Their culture revolves around it. They're treated as a separate species but they're really just Elves that live underground.

Chinese Translations: (come from Google Translate, therefore have a high chance of being incorrect)

_"Come on, Jade, do you wanna play some more?" _a voice echoed.

"_Idiot!"_ Drago snapped, frustrated.

**_Please review, hope you liked it._**

**_Oh, also by next week the original posting 'A Dragon's Jade' will be deleted from fanfiction forever. Just warning you._**


	5. Scattered Puzzle Pieces

**Disclaimer: **_I claim no right of sale or copyright. This belongs to the original creators - I'm just playing in their sandbox_

_Review Replies:_

_to Elizabeth - The Chosen One thing is up in the air. As for Jade/Drago, read on and find out. Why would Damon and Simone fall in love...? The Paco thing will be dealt with when he actually appears. I'm not sure what 'a little of when Damon talk about how Jade grow up?' means. So, sit back and enjoy the story, I don't want to spoil anything. :)_

_Thanks to LexiLopezi, CrystalPeak, Alana Fox, DevilDragon8, bunnyrabbits.123 for reviewing and special thanks to Merrypaws for pointing out an error in posting chapter 3._

_Posting Date: October 4, 2012, Thursday_

_Edited: October 5, 2012, Friday - I noticed some errors/typos as I was going through. :P_

_Notes: Totally forgot to post/I was editing. I was busier than usual yesterday. :P There will be references to what has transpired since we saw Jade and her friends last. This hints may (keyword MAY) spawn prequels.  
_

_And the original story has been removed._

* * *

**A Dragon's Perfect Jade**

**Chapter Five: Scattered Puzzle Pieces**

* * *

**Above Ground - Exorcists Lane – 4:20 pm BST**

Jade darted into the nearest bookshop and sank into the nearest available plush chair, trying to compose herself by breathing slowly and evenly. He _still _hadn't tried to kill her.

Was...he **_flirting?! _**Did he go through a psychotic break being in the interdimensional slammer or was he just having fun by messing with her head?

"Why is this my life?" she moaned, slumping in the chair. Other girls didn't have to deal with demonic childhood enemies flirting with them! But then again, they also didn't get to see all the myths that most humans thought were just stories. Jade let out a heavy sigh and glanced at the Quetzalcoatl Sunbands; the bits of blue gems were considerable dimmer now that she had just used the sunflare function.

She pulled out the manual she had gotten with it and flipped through it until she found what she wanted. It was a picture of the gem - called celestite. In the mortal world, it was used to make fireworks but in the Mystic Realm, their properties were excellent for producing light and fire. According to the small symbols etched on the serpents wrapping around the bands, the sunflare magek was limited and was determined by how much sunlight the celestite had absorbed.

"Well, that's unfortunate," she muttered. "Limited supply of sunflares,"

Jade sighed again. She hadn't been phased by much as a child and she was confident that she could take on Drago without her uncle Jackie or the J-Team. But what really concerned her was Drago's odd approach. During the search for the demon chi, Drago (and his minions) had tried to kill her personally on several occasions, though most of the time his greed for demon chi trumped the need for revenge. This time, he had totally thrown her off. He was almost...friendly, teasing.

_If Drago is telling the truth about needing help - and I don't think he's ever lied - it has be something really bad, even for a demon. _Jade reasoned. _There's no way he'd ask for my help otherwise._

"Excuse me, miss?" Jade looked up; there was an imp the size of a human child standing next to her, looking curious. The Imp, like all of it's kind, was bald and had smooth gray skin and solid colored amber eyes. There were bony ridges from the center of the Imp's forehead down to the narrowed tip of the tail and a longer horn in the center of the forehead flanked by two smaller horns just above the eyes marking the Imp as female. Between her three-fingered hands, the imp was clutching a crystal ball and was dressed in a sleeveless tunic and breeches, both of an pumpkin orange color. "Do you require assistance?"

"Actually, yes." Jade said brightly. "Forgive me for asking, but imps are minor demons, right?"

"That is correct. We have always had better relations with non-demons than many of our brethren," the imp confirmed. "Why do you ask?"

"Do you know anything about dragon demons?"

"There are only two in the world for they are not true dragons, one by the name of Shen Du is simply a demon who ate dragon flesh and took their powers for himself, passing it on to his sole offspring. However, his offspring is remarkable in that he is the only born demonic dragon of his kind."

_Drago, no doubt. _"Uh... so _how_ was he born...?"

The imp thought a moment. "Unknown. He is missing as far as I know - the last record of Shen Du's offspring was in China 4,000 years ago, possibly more, the date is unclear. As for his father, Shen Du, he was the first - and last - created demonic dragon. As the youngest of his eight siblings, Shen Du's magick and demonic strength was weaker - so he desired the dragons might for himself. When they refused him, Shen Du tricked the Queen of Dragons and killed her, consuming her flesh."

A look of horror crossed Jade's face.

"And with the power he absorbed from her, he enslaved many of the dragons and made artificial dragons of his own. With the eight demon sorcerers holding sway over most of the world at the time, there was little they could do and they, like many of the other mystic beings, retreated back to their own world until the Eight Immortals and Lo Pei sealed the demon Sorcerers away, allowing the Oni Generals to fill the void of power. But that is a story for another time,"

Jade looked thoughtful.

"Perhaps you would like a book on the subject?"

"Sure. And can I borrow that crystal ball?"

"You may borrow _a _crystal ball," the Imp corrected, gesturing to the back of the shop. "Follow me, the cost of a scrying communication is fairly inexpensive,"

* * *

The communication crystals were located in the back of the bookshop in little booths with benches and a place to put the communication device. Jade closed the booth door and activated the crystal ball after a few failed attempts at the spell words, eventually managing to get James to pick up his communication crystal and _answer _it.

"Jade, I'm _busy,_" James whispered. Clearly her old friend was crouched in a closet, his face almost filling the crystal ball. "Would you please get back from vacation soon? Captain Black is running us ragged."

"With what?" Jade asked curiously.

"A series of mysterious robberies, attacks and murders. Tohru believes it's more sorcerer than demon related,"

"Murders?" Demons never bothered with killing individual humans when the Chans and their allies were chasing them down - but that was probably because they annoyed the villains to no end.

"Tohru believes it's more sorcerer than demon related. What is so urgent that you need to call me in the middle of work?!" James whispered-yelled, trying to keep his voice down.

"You're _Tohru's _apprentice," Jade reminded him. "And why are you hiding in a closet?"

"Because Captain Black will yell at me for 'slacking'. Anyway, Sensei Tohru volunteered me and Paco to fill your place," James explained. "When are you coming back?!"

"Never. I got fired,"

James groaned. _"__Again? __See_ you in two weeks,"

"In a letter." Jade finished. "I'm pretty sure he's actually trying to get rid of me this time," James let out another groan. "You still haven't asked _why _I'm calling," Jade pointed out.

"Oh, why _are _you calling?"

"Don't tell Uncle Jackie. Or _anyone _except Paco,"

James sighed. "Okay, what did you do this time?"

"I didn't do anything – Drago's back,"

James stared for a long moment. "No, seriously, what did you do?"

Jade sighed, setting her elbows on the table and weaving her fingers together, resting her chin ontop. "Nothing – except acquire Drago as a stalker,"

"But I thought he was sealed in the Netherworld permanently!" James protested. "I read all about it in the case files!"

"He _was_ sealed in the Netherworld. Last time a demon busted out it was Shen Du with the help of Daolon Wong. It's possible that powerful magick-users can contract a demon and be able to summon them into our world. But the thing is, Drago _hasn't _tried to kill me,"

James looked confused. "Why not?"

"Why would I know what he's thinking? For all I know, he's suffering a psychotic break from too much jail time. I'm not psychic,"

"Wait, where's Simone?"

"She's fine – she's shopping on Witches' Lane. But I really wouldn't mind a team reunion,"

"What about Xu Lin?"

"We're on Magiate on our way to see her now. If you can grab Paco from Mexico – "

"Paco is here,"

"Oh, well how I am I suppose to know that? Just get him,"

"No adults?"

"Technically, we _are _ adults,"

"Only technically,"

Jade laughed. "No J-Team, just us Black Wyverns,"

James sighed. "But – "

"You're technically not an agent. In fact, no one in the Black Wyverns _except_ me is actually a Section 13 agent," Jade pointed out.

James paused. "That is true. Okay – I'll set up the portal spell from my end."

"I'll help Simone do the same for our end. Evening Twilight, tomorrow?"

"Today – I have the ingredients I need or I can get them easily,"

"I'm sure Xu Lin will have equipment we need and Simone carries around her entire potion cupboard," Jade said. "Let me check with them and I'll get back to you,"

"Sounds good," James said as loud noises began to come from the background. "I think Captain Black realized I was missing," he said regretfully.

"Use the invisibility charm,"

"It died,"

Jade sighed. "This is why I miss the talismans..."

"Don't even think about it!" More banging came from the background. "Damnit! I'll talk to you later, Jade," he said, cutting of the connection.

* * *

Witches' Lane – The Apothecary – 4: 45 pm

"Simone!"

"Gah!" Simone jumped almost a foot in the air as Jade suddenly popped behind her. The bottle she was holding went flying into the air; Jade caught it and set it back on the shelf. "Sorry," she said. "You didn't hear me from the door,"

Scruffy barked happily, dancing around Jade's legs like an excited puppy; Ruby remained draped around Simone's shoulder, lounging. "You have way too much energy," Jade said to her dog in amusement.

"Tap me on the shoulder then," Simone sighed. They were in the Apothecary, standing between two shelves stacked with all sorts of strange bottles.

"Sorry," Jade said again. "Listen, I called James – told him to bring Paco,"

"To deal with Drago? We need the proper equipment for the portal spell then,"

"Drago's here,"

Simone looked up from her journal startled. "_Here_? On Magiate? He track you _here?!_"

"Yeah – after I got the Sunbands," Jade explained, holding up one wrist. "They shoot heated light...but only if the celestite is filled with solar energy,"

"That's unfortunate,"

"Well, they detect dark forces...or they're suppose to..." Jade grumbled, remembering that they hadn't react to Drago's appearance.

"I can take a look at them later," Simone promised.

"James and Paco will portal over at evening's twilight," Jade explained, looking at her wrist. "I don't have a watch,"

"Nope," Simone said, smiling. "Lemme see if I have the proper equipment then we can head over to Xu Lin's,"

* * *

Damon lounged on a bench outside of the cafe down the street from the Apothecary, sunglasses on and baseball cap half covering his face. The witch had been in there for nearly an hour now and he was starting to get bored. He idly took another bite of the pastry he had ordered – he didn't know what it was, for he had never seen anything like it in the human world, nor did he know how to pronounce it but it tasted good. Best of all, all he had to do to pay was tell the shopkeeper a good tale of the human world, rather than sacrifice another of his personal items.

He sat up and took notice when Jade jumped over the building's rooftop, landed in front of the entrance and ran inside.

Twenty minutes later of Damon slouching in his seat again, Jade re-emerged with Simone and her two familiar animals in tow, burdened with extra bags. Simone and Jade juggled the bags, sorting out who was carrying what before setting down the street, walking past the cafe he was sitting at.

Luckily they were on the other side of the street.

"Hey, can I get a check?" he called.

* * *

Outskirts of the City of Arcana - Magiate Isle

"No, Scruffy!" A Jade wearing comfortable walking clothes of a short-sleeved orange shirt with black pants, boots and fingerless black gloves glared at her dog and whispered in frustration as she tugged on the former talisman wielder's leash.

Ruby seemed to roll her eyes from her perch on Jade's shoulder. The two young women and Jade's two animals were somewhere in one of the residential neighborhoods of Magiate Island which was a clash of architecture from around the world. Where there had been neat rows of houses with bikes and carriages lining the smooth cobblestone streets closer to town, the farther they walked, the more they became spaced out and the more woodland began to take the place of buildings.

Simone was flipping idly through her guidebook, marking important landmarks down. There were signs pointing the way to a shop and occasionally the paths branched off.

Scruffy seemed to be stubbornly sitting on the path, looking with intense interest at a passing butterfly, as if he wanted to chase it. The sun was rising higher in the sky, it's rays lighting up the darkness underneath the trees.

"Scruffy!" Jade huffed. This was the problem with having pets. Stubbornness. "Come on! Ruby, scare Scruffy,"

The white cat seemed to sigh but leapt right onto the dog's back. He yelped whirling around in a frantic attempt to rid of himself of his attacker. Ruby flew off (of her own free will) and skipped off down the sidewalk as Scruffy tore off down the cobblestones, dragging Jade with him.

Simone looked up from her guidebook with a slight smile on her face, laughing. "Maybe Scruffy's feeling restless," she called.

"Not helping!" Jade yelled back. "No, heel! Heel!" Jade commanded her dog. Surprisingly the dog obeyed, screeching to a stop. Jade breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally," she sighed, patting the over-excited dog on the head and giving him a treat. "No more doggy-playtime. Be good,"

Ruby hopped on Jade's shoulder again with a sniff as if to say: "I don't think he can be,"

Jade sighed. "Let's get this over with,"

* * *

_Shangri-La Legends - (A Shop)_

"This is the place," Simone announced, stopping in front of a Chinese-style house set a good ways into the forest. There were several talismans and dreamcatchers decorating the porch with plants lining the walkway around the house. The sliding door was half open and had a sign in Chinese:

_Don't open a shop unless you like to smile__*, i_t said and underneath in smaller characters_ 'Passphrase please,'_

Scruffy barked impatiently. "Be quiet!" she scolded good-naturedly. Ruby was perched on her shoulder as usual, a paw in her hair to keep balanced with her tail wrapped lightly around her mistress's throat.

"Yes, we're all going in," Jade replied. Ever since the incident with the Cat of Khartoum, she had been able to understand animals better than most. Having the wielded the monkey talisman on several occasions also helped. "Sometimes, I wonder why I'm not in college," she mumbled to herself.

Simone laughed "Oh, who are you kidding?"

Jade grinned. "Good point,"

Jade laid her hand on the sign._"A book is like a garden carried in the pocket.*" _she said in Chinese.

The door shimmered with green chi magic and slid open as Jade stepped back.

The sunlight shone softly through the windows, revealing light dust motes and creaking hardwood flooring underfoot. There were bookshelves lining the walls and shorter shelves in the room's center with a checkout in the corner. To its credit, it looked recently used. To the right of the door there was a cherry wood staircase tucked into the wall and it spiraled up and down. Ruby meowed again. Scruffy sniffed around and let out a low growl. Jade looked down at her familiar animal and frowned, looking around.

"What is it, boy?"

"Hello, is anyone here?" Simone called.

"Mind if I tag along?"

Jade and Simone whirled around in surprise and Scruffy barked, growling. There was another person standing in the doorway – a man with sun-tanned skin and blonde-hair. He wore a dark blue muscle shirt under a black leather jacket with dark pants and a bag slung over his shoulder, his scarred face half hidden by a pair of sunglasses.

But despite the absence of 'pizza-face' there was no way Jade could forget that face.

"Strikemaster Ice!"

* * *

Drago sniffed the air near which Xu Lin's home and shop resided. Jade and her friend the Witch were already inside along with her animals and Ice - Damon, Drago mentally corrected. Wait, why was Damon in Xu Lin's shop?

_He'd better not mess anything up._

"Stupid wizards..." he growled. "Nothing magickal can hide from me," Drago made a wide circle around Xu Lin's secluded shop, headed deeper into the forest and higher into the hills.

The pixies - basically faerie versions of fireflies in Drago opinion - chirped and giggled as he passed.

_"This way...this way..." _Drago covered his nose from the faerie dust as they zoomed ahead pointing the way.

_"Creepy wizard...is this way..."_

"Thanks," Drago grumbled, crushing his desire to crush one of the pesky pixies in his claws. They'd swarm him them and that would be annoying. He jumped into one of the trees, moving through them stealthily as he drew closer to the wizard's hiding spot.

At the crown of the hill, a weird old man was staring onto Xu Lin's home and shop below with a telescope as his wand - a sticky carved with runes - ran over the parchment set up on an easel. He seemed unperturbed by the danger of falling to his death despite the fact he was practically standing on the ledge.

"You've hit rock bottom, haven't you old one?" Drago purred, crouching on the banister. The man whirled on the young demon, snarling.

"The Son of Shendu!"

"Drago, but thanks for the title. Not much of one though,"

Daolon Wong glared; time had not been kind to the old dark chi wizard. His matted hair was falling out, his skin was even waxier than before and he looked liked a living corpse. He no longer wore his wizardly robes although he still possessed his disenchanted staff. Instead he had a set of not-so-gently used clothes; a patched trenchcoat with a white shirt and frayed jeans.

"I want nothing more to do with you or demonic brethren!"

"Good for you Gramps," Drago purred. "But you do want revenge."

"Nonsense!"

"Who said it was revenge on me or my so-called family? It's the Chan girl you want to kill."

"And what business is it of yours? She and her dratted uncles have caused you as much grief as they have to me! Once the girl is out of the picture – "

"You'll sign your death warrant," Drago finished. "The Uncle Chan is a wuss but hurt her and you're gonna be dead meat. The entire J-Team including that lovable sumo will hunt you to the ends of the Earth. But since _I _need her," He leapt off the banister as he spoke, his lips curling in a fanged smirk as he rose to his feet, tail sweeping the air. "I think I'll save them the trouble."

"Stay away from me! Wraiths, to my aid!"

"Really?" Drago scoffed as black and blue figures appeared from clouds of smoke. They were wraiths with twisted forms, horns, claws and spikes protruding from their bodies in the most grotesque ways. "Please, they're hardly a challenge,"

Drago wreathed his claws in the blue flame as his fangs glimmered in the strangely rapidly descending darkness of the day lit church. The first wave of Wraiths charged towards him and he cut through the with lesser demons with fire claws, dissipating them into smoke. Several got through his initial attack and piled ontop of him.

He ignored the claws that dug into his scales as the wraiths scrambled for him, piling over him in a discoordinated heap and he charged forward, swinging his tail, sending the Wraiths flying off of him and smashing two more Wraiths to the ground as he landed. He raised one hand and a ball of blue fire erupted, splitting into streams that shot towards the Wraiths like ballistic missiles, disintegrating them.

Fire tore from every inch of Drago's body, passing through his apparently enchanted clothing, surrounding him in a pillar of flame and expanding outward, incinerating any Wraiths that got in the way.

Daolon Wong watched in horror, the heat on the outcropping quickly rising. The flame pillar shrunk back again and then turned into a batch of fiery snakes, incinerating the remaining Wraiths.

"What!? No!"

"Old men shouldn't play with the kids," the dragon demon taunted as his boosted fire power streamed towards the wizard. "Your time in this world is _done_!"

"Stop!" the fallen wizard cried, rising his arms to his face to protect himself. "Spare me! I can tell you about the witch named Circe!" The flames burst into air inches from the dark wizard's face. Before he could sigh in relief, he suddenly found himself dangling from the claws of the young dragon demon.

"Tell me what you know then," All signs of Drago's playfulness was gone now and his scarlet orbs narrowed to dangerous slits. "Everything. And maybe,_ maybe, _I'll be merciful."

* * *

_A book is like a garden carried in the pocket. - Chinese Proverb_

_Don't open a shop unless you like to smile. - Chinese Proverb_


	6. Under Duress

**Disclaimer: **_I claim no right of sale or copyright. This belongs to the original creators - I'm just playing in their sandbox_

_Review Replies:_

**_Sorry about the late posting date - midterms and papers overwhelmed me. :(_**

**_Posting Date: October 16, 2012, Tuesday_**

_"Speaking Chinese," "_Speaking English,"

(See Hiatus Announcement at the end of this chapter.)

* * *

**A Dragon's Perfect Jade**

**Chapter Six – Under Duress**

* * *

**The Demon Netherworld**

_"Nephew, oh dear nephew!"_ Hsi Wu's voice dissipated into the endless void of the Demon Netherworld. _"Where are you?!_" His language was Chinese of course - they had been born in China centuries ago - heck they had practically _invented _the language and many others. Of course, if humans knew that, they'd been in denial. They would be horrified that demons had taught them how to speak. Well, how else were they suppose give them orders?

It wasn't really terribly uncommon not to see any of his demon siblings for inmeasurable passages of time. But out of all of his aunts and uncles, Drago really like Hsi Wu the best. Not to say he spilled all of his darkest secrets to Hsi Wu but they got along well. They were the smallest of the demons and occasionally when they were especially bored they helped Tchang Zu torture Shendu. This past time was more dangerous now that Shen Du had all of his talismans but it was still fun. The 'bonding time' even helped improved Drago's relationship with the Lightning* Demon and occasionally some of the others joined in. Understandably, Shen Du spent most of his time avoiding everyone else.

Hsi Wu frowned, landing on the flat top of a giant rock spire. _"How strange..."_ Stretching his wings, he took off again. _"Dear nephew, Dian Rui! I will keep using your true name unless you come out!"_

_"Why are you making all that racket?!"_

Hsi Wu back-flapped as Bai Tza's sounded out and the demon mermaid appeared from around a large boulder, hissing and looking very annoyed. _"Oh Sister Bai! How are you?_" Hsi Wu asked, trying to regain some semblance of dignity.

_"I am trying to meditate,"_ she hissed.

_"Then I am sorry to disturb you,"_ Hsi Wu said humbly._ "I was simply searching for our nephew. Have you seen him?"_

_"Most certainly not!"_ she snapped.

Hsi Wu, taking note that her head tentacles looked singed. _"Did Shen Du misbehave again, dear sister?"_

_"He tried. But nonetheless, I must calm myself._" she paused. _"You may check the library for our nephew. He often hides there,"_

_"And do you know where the library is right now?"_

Bai Tza pointed._ "It is somewhere in that direction."_

_"Many thanks, sister," _Hsi Wu said respectfully, swooping off.

_"Brother Wu!"_

_"Yes, Sister?"_

_"Perhaps you should attempt to track him through the chi-sight?"_

Hsi Wu frowned. _"I thought that only worked on humans,"_

_"Drago is of unknown origin,_" Bai Tza pointed out. _"We already know he picked out the name Drago for himself, neglecting to use his true name. And Shen Du claims he hadn't seen his son for centuries before Lo Pei sealed him away,_"

Hsi Wu frowned. _"Why does Shen Du do these things? Abandon his brothers and sisters, his own son?"  
_

Bai Tza flicked her tail dismissively. _"Because he is selfish. But the mystery of Dian Rui remains,"_

_"Very true,"_ Hsi Wu agreed, coming to rest on a boulder next to his sister. _"Let us try it,"_ Hsi Wu hovered over the boulder and breathed, opening his eyes wide. The red ords slowly clouded over in a pink mist and turned dark blue. Hsi Wu slowly blinked his eyes.

_"He has shielded himself,"_ Hsi Wu said sounding proud.

_"Then perhaps, he is full-demon,"_ Bai Tza mused._ "But his appearance is most curious,"_

_"Perhaps he simply modeled himself off of humans,"_ Hsi Wu proposed. _"We do not know where Drago was in those intervening years. With most creatures similar to ourselves no longer residing on Earth, humans were probably most familiar to him,"_

Bai Tza frowned._ "I will go with you to the library. I do hope that Drago - in betraying his father - has not shown that he takes after him more than he would like,"_

* * *

**Xu-Lin's Shop**

"Strikemaster Ice!" Jade dropped Scruffy's leash, whipping a pair of _tiě shàn _out of her belt as Scruffy made to spring, a growl low in his throat. Simone's hands came up as she dropped her guidebook and her pentagram necklace began to glow.

Jade's childhood enemy held up his hands in a sign of peace. "Wait, I'm not - "

"Good morning!"

Damon, Jade and Simone both jumped as Xu Lin appeared seemingly out of nowhere with a bright smile in front of the counter, the bell ringing merrily. "Sorry - I was upstairs setting breakfast. Would anyone like some food before you start destroying my shop?"

The three would-be combatants just blinked at her in surprise. Ruby flowed over to the countertop with a mew and purred happily when the Chinese woman started scratching behind her ears. Scruffy kept growling at Ice.

Xu Lin had grown from that cursed, frightened girl Jade had found and befriended in the Lotus Temple. Her dark hair was tied up in a bun and secured by a pair of lacquered hairsticks but a section of hair was pushed off to the left side of her face and pinned there like a controlled bang. She wore a sleeveless qipao with a long loose skirt with slits in either side with a pair of bike shorts under it. It was a blend of the traditional and Shanghai styles - it fitted her torso well, showing a small bosom.

Simone let her magic sink back into her skin and crossed the room to give her friend a hug. "Oh, Lin, we would never destroy your shop!"

"Not on purpose," she agreed, returning Simone's hug.

Jade straightened up from her fighting stance and tucked away one of her war fans. "Come on, sis, we're not going to destroy your shop,"

"Good - I'd hate to suffer Uncle's curse." The woman smiled turning to Ice. "And you must be the infamous Strikemaster Ice. Are _you _here to destroy my shop?"

"No. And my name is Damon Frost." Jade raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I ain't a kid anymore." he said in reply to her unanswered question.

"Why are you here?" she demanded.

"To start over," Damon said simply. He paused and decided to tell the truth, though this had not been apart of Drago's plan. "Drago paid me a visit,"

Jade pointed at the door with her fan. "Get out!"

"Wait, wait," Xu Lin said, gliding over and a settling a calming hand on Jade's shoulder. "Let's not be hasty, hm?" she turned to Damon. "Would you like to join us for breakfast?"

"Lin, we had breakfast," Jade put in, sounding hostile as she aimed a glare at Damon.

"I don't mind a second breakfast," Simone said, receiving a glare from the former section 13 agent. "What?"

Damon eyed each of the girls and animals, warily for a moment then nodded at Xu Lin. "Sure, I could use some food,"

"Xu Lin!" Jade exclaimed sounding appalled.

The Chinese woman just smiled serenely smiled at Jade and glided towards the back of the shop where there was another sliding door. "Right this way," she invited. "But Damon will have to wear this pendant," She held out a coral disk on a cord with a Chinese character carved into it.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because you're part-demon." she explained as the pendant just appeared around his neck.

Damon jerked his gaze up from the pendant to stare at Xu Lin's retreating back. "Hang on, what did you jus' say!?"

* * *

In the small dining area off the smaller kitchen, Xu Lin arranged the dishes on the small square table, filled the bowls of her guests with the first portions of rice and sat down on the cushion across from Simone, smiling at her guests. "Please enjoy yourselves," she said bowing to the table before picking up her chopsticks.

Damon tried to ignore Jade's suspicious glare from her place across the table and picked up the bowl of congee, curiously wondering if it would taste as strange as it did back at the monastery.

"You can add special seasonings if you'd like," Xu Lin offered, gesturing to the spices set out.

"Oh, thanks," he said awkwardly, reaching for the closest one. For a few moments only the sounds of eating could be heard though Xu Lin struck up conversation with Simone and Jade, occasionally asking Damon what he thought of the food.

"Okay, enough chit-chat," Jade said, setting down her chopsticks. "Why are you here, Ice?"

"Damon," he corrected automatically. "The Mortal Realm wasn't working out for me,"

"So you decided to follow _me_,"

"You're the only one who's fought Drago in the past." Damon said. "Besides, your uncles. They're prejudiced."

"Against criminals? Yes, usually but that's mostly from Uncle since you were -"

"He _is _part demon," Xu Lin corrected.

"I am not!" Damon protested. "Drago took away my demon chi,"

"Once you have chi, it can't just be taken away," Simone explained. "I'm a witch really so the aspect of chi is really in Xu Lin's department but it is life energy. The source of your life and magick. Xu Lin's saying that even if you can't go dragon anymore or breathe fire something _has _changed about you,"

"Hang on a sec! Me and Jackie both had demon chi before! Does that mean, I have wind powers and Jackie has Earth powers?"

"It really varies," Simone explained. "You've had a lot of … interesting experiences. You're just kind of mixed up inside. But from what I've read in the case files, Strikemaster Ice here – Damon – had the dragon demon chi for much longer than you or Jackie had either of your shadowkhan or demonic chi. I don't think it really had time to settle in. If it changed you, it was probably in small ways - like an affinity for night and strength, increased strength, improved leg strength,"

"Well, none of that's any different from what we were able to do before," Jade said. "So I guess I'm not too concerned." She turned to Damon. "We'll hear you out,"She said, petting Scruffy's head as Ruby curled up in Xu Lin's lap. "After all, the Enforcers and Tohru managed to change."

"Don't compare me to the Enforcers!"

"I wasn't," Jade said, grinning. "You have better moves than they do anyway,"

Damon sat down and crossed his arms. "Fine. Thanks,"

"So, before Jade starts interrogating you, lemme ask," Xu Lin put in. "When you lost the demon chi, did you feel any different?"

Damon thought about it. "Well, I had fire demon chi the longest. I don't get cold very easily anymore - before I couldn't stand winter,"

"Well, that's ironic," Jade quipped.

"Ha, ha," he said dryly. "And heat didn't bother me very either. I didn't bruise easily after the demon chi,"

"You had fire demon chi _longest_?" Simone asked.

"When Drago captured all the demon chi, he gave them some extra," Jade explained. "Ice - Damon -" she corrected. "Got Earth,"

"So thermal resistance and enhanced durability," Simone mused. "Anything else?"

"Well, in prison this pack of thugs tried rushing me at once," Damon said. "Next thing I knew they had all run into each other and I was hanging from a lamp,"

"Enhanced reflexes and acrobatics," Xu Lin added.

Damon frowned. _Drago did say he could track me anyway because I had his chi. Does that mean the Earth demon can do the same? _"So...the demon chi really did change me,"

"I don't think you really have to worry about it," Xu Lin continued.

"You said Drago visited you," Jade interrupted.

"He did,"

"Why? Did he send you to plead his case?"

"Not exactly," Damon replied evenly. To be honest, he was only suppose to follow, not _talk _to her. But it didn't make sense why _Drago_ would ask for help from a Chan, especially her. He had tried to kill her at a few times. She was the niece, and she was annoying, but amusing. But Jade wasn't just a kid who thought she was tougher and bigger than she was and took any chance to prove it. Now, without Jackie holding her back, she could legitimately back it up._  
_

"He said a sorceress pulled him from the Netherworld Void to help her and the demons aren't too happy about what she wants them to do,"

"Plural?"

"There are other demons besides Drago's messed up family," Damon explained. "Like vampires,"

"Human vampires don't exist, right?" Simone asked.

"Right. Human myths. They exist as Nosferatu - you know, they look like corpses. They _are_ corpses - the human vampires thing may have come from them using glamors to lure their prey,"

"Doesn't this sorceress know demons _always _betray you?" Simone said.

"Not always." Damon said. "Not if you bargain correctly."

"Did Drago have contact with his relatives?" Jade asked.

"Not that I know of," Damon replied.

Scruffy lifted his head from Jade's lap where he was drapped, sniffing the air and began to growl. Ruby shot up in Xu Lin's lap, fur standing all on end as a vicious hiss sounded.

Simone stood, her pendant shimmering as a pair of deer horn knives appeared in Xu Lin's hands.

"Friend of yours?" Jade asked coldly, shooing Scruffy off of her lap.

"Maybe, maybe not," Damon conceded also standing.

He expected her to scream but she _smiled _and lifted her hand, materializing a pair of amber fans with golden characters traced on it. As amber _chi _coated the _tiě shàn_, they turned blue with red characters. "I'm not a girl anymore,"

Scruffy barked loudly as the lights suddenly spluttered out. "Wraiths!" Xu Lin yelled.

Damon swore violently as a brilliant white light filled the kitchen, a whistling ringing in the air. The Wraiths retreated back from the glow of Simone's pendant.

"Please don't destroy my shop," Xu Lin pleaded.

"I think we have more to worry about than your shop," Damon scolded, taking up a stance. "Truce, Jade?"

Jade looked him in mild surprise - it was probably the first time he had ever used her name. "Truce,"

* * *

"Thank you so much for finding my friend for me," Drago twitched violently, whirling around. Daolon Wong yelped as Drago's claws dug into his skin.

A tall woman in a red Greecian toga appeared out of trees. Her dark hair tumbled around her shoulders, her skin a healthy olive tone. Her lips were painted dark red and gold drops hung from her ears with a rope of pearls around her neck and a gold tiara in her hair.

"Circe," Drago growled.

"Drago," she smiled, lifting her arms. "I've been looking everywhere for you,"

Drago scowled. If she stayed around any longer, he was going to puke. "Why don't you come on home?" she continued. "I can fix your arm,"

"Why don't you stop parading behind the name of an _actual _great witch?" Drago snapped.

Circe laughed but her smile became slightly strained. "I took the name to encourage myself," she explained. "I'm sure you can understand the significance of a name?" she stepped forward - Drago swung Daolon Wong in front of him, making the pathetically disenchanted dark chi wizard, whimper and attempt to escape from the grasp of Drago's claws.

"I want nothing to do with you, witch,"

"Come now, Drago, you're hurting my feelings." She took several steps forward and hastily made a hand gesture as Daolon Wong was thrown at her - he turned into a withered looking crow, falling to the ground and cawing feebly.

Her serene mask remained undisturbed and she sighed, turning her gaze on him again. "You're really disappointing me, Drago. I thought we were working so well together,"

"I don't appreciate being double-crossed!"

"I see - you're confused..." A ball of blue-flame broke her concentration and she stumbled back, hastily quenching the fire on her toga with another spell.

"Stop with the hynopsis," Drago growled. "It doesn't work on me,"

"That is really a shame," she said with a poisonous smile, raising her arms. A dark red cloak fell around her body as runes on her arms became visible glowing with amber power. "I was really hoping it wouldn't come to this,"

* * *

A/N: I know - cliffhanger! But I missed posting last week and I really didn't want to leave you hanging again. Also, I'm posting this somewhat prematurely because of recent developments that had made it impossible to keep my sanity.

_HIATUS ANNOUNCEMENT - There was a point in my college where I could still reasonably keep up with college obligations and sort-of regular fanfiction postings but that's been shot to hell. __I have midterm papers to complete by next week, work (of which I need more hours) and I have a new internship as of...tomorrow which is UNPAID and goes till January. I also have club activities to deal with and I've slacking in that department. and I have paperwork to take care of too and an independent project. So, my life is kind of in chaos due to college and home life upheaval. (And my grandmother isn't making home life much easier...) I will likely update chapters that are almost complete but any new chapters will be slow going. But I do find a need to drop fanfiction (mostly) and focus on attending to these Real Life manners before I find myself drowning in unfulfilled responsibilities, guilt and shame._

_Rest assured nothing horrible has happened to me - the only thing I foresee in my future is stress and the need to punch or kick things. Once my two papers and presentation are out of the way, I should feel safe enough to come back. So, expect the Hiatus to lift after November 7th or so. (A bulk of my Real Life issues should be resolved by then)_


	7. Incomplete Pictures

**Disclaimer: **_I claim no right of sale or copyright. This belongs to the original creators - I'm just playing in their sandbox_

_I apologize for the extended hiatus and the several weeks wait but admist papers and Noveling, I have managed to carve out time to bring you this chapter! Rejoice!_

_Posted: December 8, 2012_

_"Speaking Chinese," "_Speaking English," "_hablando español,"_

_General Review Replies - I picked Dian Rui because it does mean something but unfortunately this is one of those times when I have failed to keep notes and I forget what it means exactly. :(_

_By 'true name' here I mean 'proper name' and knowing someone's true name doesn't give any one magickal control over them._

_Any other questions you have will be answered either in this chapter or later._

_Thank you to everyone for reviwing and please enjoy (and thank you for not reviewing the Author's Note chapter)_

* * *

Dragon's Perfect Jade – Chapter 7

Incomplete Pictures

* * *

Drago's crimson eyes reflected a burst of amber magic; he sprang into the air, his claws becoming cloaked in his blue fire as he sliced through Circe's spell.

"Face it, Aione," Drago mocked. "You're nothing but a washed-up, wanna-be sorceress."

She smiled as the color of her magic faded but her smile struggled to remain in place as she scowled at the sound of her real name. "Then why did you run, seeking out your worst enemy to help? Your desperation shows, Drago!"

Drago sprang again and leaped off the cliff pushing away from the cliffside with his paws and landing gracefully on his feet.

Then, he stumbled as the ground shifted underneath his feet forcing him to change positions but the ground was consistently shaking and now he saw why - rock golems were rising out of the forest floor with massive rocky hands and disproportionate bodies, their growls making the trees tremble.

"This is why I don't like sorcerers,"

* * *

Angel Island, San Francisco Bay - Section 13 Base

"James!"

The Chi Wizard apprentice sighed and opened the closet door after reducing the crystal ball in size and putting it in his pocket. Captain Black was looking at him with a raised eyebrow as he emerged from the closet. Aside from a few wrinkles, Captain Black looked the same as he did seven years ago.

"Yes, sir?"

"May I ask why you're hiding in a closet?"

"For privacy, sir," James said truthfully.

To his credit, Captain Black did not attempt to pry further, just handed him a packet. "You're with Paco. Go over those and see if you two can brainstorm anything. Call me for further clarification if you need but instructions and a briefing are included,"

"Yes, sir," James said respectfully.

He nodded briskly and strode off down the lantern-lit stoney corridors of their Angel Island base with his ever-present (even after seven years) black coat swishing dramatically behind him.

James let out a sigh of relief after he was sure the veteran captain was gone and went to look for Paco.

* * *

Predictably, Paco was in the gym - for some reason hitting high school meant he was more...well James didn't know how describe it but Paco was very devoted to psychical improvement. He didn't really want to contemplate the reasons why though.

By the time James arrived, Paco's opponent was already sitting on the sidelines, treating several bruises with an ice pack while Paco completed a set of pull-ups. James much prefer the martial arts that Jade had pestered him into - wrestling wasn't really his speed.

Like the rest of the base which had been carved out of rock and kept that way to please the sensibilities of their island hosts the gym was lit by lanterns with spheres of ghost flames that never went floating within the glass containers. The lanterns were hung from the ceilings and the around the walls - the only reason why the ghost flames spheres weren't just floating about was because the humans found it annoying to bump into floating, glowing spheres of light resulting in spotty vision and an aching nose.

"Paco," he said but Paco didn't appear to hear - it also didn't help that he deliberately did not face the door when working out. "Paco," he said louder and still no response. After the third attempt - and getting annoyed by the sniggers of the other agent in the mostly deserted gym - James took up one of the containers of handwipes and threw it at Paco's head.

It bounced off and Paco stopped, letting himself drop to the floor and turned. "¿Por qué lo haces...? Yames!" He never did learn to pronounce his 'J's. "What are you doing here? Has Yade returned?"

"I've been tryin' to get your attention for five minutes," James explained. "And no, she hasn't." he held up the packet. "Put your shirt - we've got work,"

Paco sighed striding over the bench where he had placed his things and retrieved a towel, wiping himself clean of sweat. "The sorcery crimes?" Paco wasn't quite so scrawny anymore - he had grown from scrawny gangly kid to a lean, muscular young man - his face had filled out and his eyes weren't so large.

"Yes,"

"Why does the J-Team not handle it?"

"Because they're technically not Section 13,"

"Neither are we," Paco added.

James paused for thought. "Are you really going to let random sorcerers run around doing whatever they please?"

"No!" Paco said indignantly.

"Didn't think so. But besides the case - " James tugged Paco out of the gym, out of earshot of the other agent. "We need to talk about something else."

* * *

Xu Lin's House

The glow from Simone's pendant collected into her hands before a ringing explosion of energy rippled outwards hurtling the wraiths clean through the walls. Xu Lin moaned at the destruction as the air around the group rippled and they were suddenly transported outside to the garden where more wraiths were appearing, surrounding them. Scruffy growl; Ruby stood at the ready claws extended, eyes narrowed to slits.

"I don't think these are just wraiths," Simone said grimly.

"But they're not vampires either," Damon noted. "Me and the crew had to deal with some when we were working for Drago. They shouldn't be out in broad daylight."

"Someone's enhanced them," Jade muttered, readying her war fans. "Lin, Mona, cover us,"

"I do better in the front," Xu Lin said, darting forward as the wraiths moved towards the small group. Her first strike blazed through the air as a pair of deer horn knives appeared in her hands, cutting through the throat of the first wraith. She whirled and cut down a second wraith and flipped to avoid a strike.

Simone was wandless and wordlessly casting spells from the back as Damon and Jade charged in with Jade's amber fan creating a fire-like pattern in the air.

Silver hexbolts from Simone's direction mowed down the army of wraiths, successfully dispelling them. The sun was rising higher in the sky but they only shrank - they did not dissipate.

Jade swore violently as a wraith cut her wrist and tripped her sending her to the ground.

"Get up!" The wraith was suddenly tackled from the side, taken down by Damon and he sliced it's throat with an unseen knife as Jade rolled to her feet, discovering that the sunbands were glowing brightly.

"Simone! I have an idea!"

Scruffy and Ruby were tag teaming the army of wraiths with Xu Lin who was breathing ice every so often so she could smash them.

"What is it?"

"My sunbands! Maybe can you enhance the charge!"

"Got it!" She turned a wraith that got too close into a demented looking cat and erected a barrier around herself with her pentacle glowing brightly as she began to mutter a spell under her breath.

* * *

James' Office

Despite his insistence that he wasn't a Section 13 agent, James had even been granted his own office - next to Tohru's workroom of course. Tohru and Sensei were out investigating with Jackie so James had the run of the place to himself. Now he was running back and forth collecting ingredients for the transport spell.

"I thought you said we had this to do," Paco argued, waving the folder. "But now you're saying we have to go to Magiate?"

"To meet Jade. She was fired and she's not coming back,"

Paco rolled his eyes. "_Que es la cosa más tonta que he oído_" (That's the silliest thing I've ever heard)*

"English!"

"That's ridiculous. Yade's never fired permanently."

"It doesn't matter." James snapped. "Drago's back,"

Paco stopped. He looked up from the folder. He gave James a flat unamused look. "_Eso no es gracioso_. That's not funny, Yames,"

"I'm not joking. Jade saw him."

"Drago was sealed away _en el inframundo_. I was there,"

"So was Jade! Look, I'm just telling you what she told me,"

Paco sighed. "Yade never could stay out of trouble,"

"I'll say - " someone started from behind him. Paco whirled and attempted to punch the stranger but he dodged.

"Testy, testy," Frank clicked his tongue in mock-disapproval. "Don't worry - your girlfriend can take care of herself." Frank, Finn's nephew was a Section 13 agent now and Finn just about near burst with pride (and tears) when he had passed the requirements tests. He had red hair a shade darker than James', pale skin tanned from missions and a wore gray tee-shirt with black jeans - it seemed that all Section 13 agents wore black.

"They're not dating," James said in Jade's defense, picking up his grimoire and flipping through it.

"In Paco's dreams," Frank agreed winking cheerfully at the sour looking kickboxer. "So, where do you two think you're going?"

"To help Jade," James said. "Don't tell Captain Black,"

"Wouldn't dream of it! Technically, neither of you are agents anyway," Frank said, leaning against the door. "So what trouble has she gotten into this time?"

"Demon problem," Paco said. "Not quite the level of the Demon Sorcerers or the Oni but problematic enough,"

"Hm..." Frank looked thoughtful. "Trouble in the Mystic Realm?"

"Yes,"

"Maybe you should pay a visit to the elves. Without Paco. We all know what happened last time,"

James snorted; Paco glared at Frank. "Don't remind me,"

"Just here to keep things entertaining while the girls are away, having adventures," Frank said. "Me and Charlie can take those files off your hands if you'd like."

"Thanks, Frank," James said gratefully.

"No problem. I may just cash in all these favors, I've done for you over the years and apply for membership," he saluted them both with the folder and walked out of the office.

"I may have to take him up on that offer..." James mused.

"_Por favor no,_" Paco sighed.

James sniggered. "I think a little torment would do you some good."

* * *

Drago ducked under the swinging arm of a golem, covering his claws in blue-white fire as he slashed upwards with his hands, crumbling it's rocky skull to dust and skidding between the legs of another lumbering giant as he expels an explosion of blue flame. He swings around and barely deflects Circe/Aione's magick and his scale sizzle as he hisses in pain.

* * *

Jade's sunbands begin to grow brighter and Damon and Xu Lin are cutting down the wraiths as fast as they pop up. Damon seems to be moving faster and faster, his breath coming quick and his eyes shone faintly red as he leaps up and twists the neck of a wraith.

* * *

Circe/Aione keeps back, sending her golem minions to wear Drago down. She had strengthened them with magick so he was forced to use his blue fire to rip through her golems - it decreased his strength and slowed him down substantially. The feeble crow was hopping around her feet cawing and she sneered at it before beginning to mutter under breath, adding to the spell she was weaving with threads infused with her magic.

* * *

"Get down!" Jade orders and immediately the animals and Damon and Xu Lin stop cutting through the wraiths as Jade raises her hand, the brightness of the sun shining right there in Xu Lin's courtyard. The wraiths - who had begun to move forward when their attackers stopped attacking - lurched back, shielding their eyes from the sudden bright light. The sun beam goes upward and comes down, exploding in a show of golden light that instantly erases all traces of the wraiths as their shadowy forms ripple and fade.

* * *

Drago cuts down his next golem - by now, he's lost count of how many he's cut down - and dodges another one, landing on the shoulders of another. He ignores the failing of the roaring mindless golem, eyes searching through the crowd for their maker - there she is.

Standing at the edge of the clearing, muttering under her breath. Drago's eyes narrow. "I hate sorceresses," he growls and speeds forward, orange and blue flame growing - one in his left paw and the other in his right.

Aione/Circe opens her eyes, smiles and throws the spell circle at him with a shout. Drago curls himself into a ball midair and the flames surround him and everything explodes.

* * *

Simone lowers her hands, Scruffy sits up, barking happily, Riby washes herself, Xu Lin is helped to her feet by Damon and Jade kneels on one knee. There's barely time for Damon to get out half a quip before a booming explosion sounds, bellowing smoke and fire and magic over the clearing. Damon shoves Xu Lin back to the ground; everyone else drops, holding their breath until the gust and the swirling fire calms. When it does there's a long moment before Scruffy barks out the all-clear and they cautiously get up again.

"That was Drago," Damon is on his feet already and helps Xu Lin get up. "And he's in a bad way,"

* * *

Aione/Circe smiled, stepping across the ruined backsides of the golems as she approached Drago's still form, lying face down in the dirt. Patches of orange flame and a light blue flame danced along his body but his clothes were intact - dragon flame-retardant, she supposed. She sighed. "I was hoping you wouldn't force me to go to such extremes," she sighed as the feeble crow managed to take to the air and landed on Aione/Circe's shoulder.

"You yet be useful to me," she said, stroking the crow's feathers. "We'll work on you," She turned her attention back to Drago who was very still. "I am sorry about this Drago but you were being rather stubborn - " she paused and swept her hand up, erecting a shield between herself and the incoming hex that bounced off and dissipated harmlessly.

She looked up, raising an eyebrow at the young sorceress, standing with her hand extended - the pentacle around her neck was shining. She narrowed her eyes. "A sorceress of the Order,"

"Stay away from 'im, lady," Damon snapped, appearing with Xu Lin and Jade.

Aione/Circe's lips curled; Simone moved blasting the enemy sorceress with a hex that was deflected again and Simone just barely protected them from her counterattack. A sunblast from Jade suddenly erupted, catching Aione/Circe by surprise and sending her backwards. She snarled, raising her hands.

"You have a lot of nerve,"

"You're the one who attacked us on your homeground!" Jade snapped, clenching her hand as the sunblast grew brighter. "Back off,"

The sorceress screamed something in Greek that rushed toward them in a flurry wings and fire.

"MOVE!" Simone screams and Jade dives to the side and fires a sunblast at Aione just as Damon leaps into the air, crosses the distance and kicks her so hard in the face she goes flying. She vanishes in a twisting of magic and cloth before she hits the ground.

* * *

6:23 pm BST

The quartet, by silent agreement of truce, carefully gather up Drago's still but breathing form and make a stretcher (well, Simone conjured it) to carry him back to the house. It's nearing late afternoon and Simone still has to set up the portal spell to get James and Paco here. Xu Lin wants to erect the wards around the house and make plans to move. Scruffy and Ruby are shooed off to act as temporary familiars for Xu Lin and Simone so Jade and Damon are left in charge of guarding Drago - both from the enemy sorceress and to protect everyone in the house.

"Well, I don't suppose I should be surprised that my life just became even stranger," said Jade. "If that were still possible," She was sitting by Drago's unconscious form laid carefully out on one of Xu Lin's spare beds.

"So, he was telling the truth," Damon mused from the doorway.

Jade looked up at Damon – or at the spot where Damon was standing, presumably – and raised an eyebrow. "You went along with the henchman gig again even though you didn't believe him. He didn't even give you your dragon powers back,"

Damon shrugged. "I don't have much more to lose. Human world wasn't my thing anymore – being back in the Mystic Realm – well I have a shot at a life. Mortal realm's...boring."

"It does kind of pale in comparison, doesn't it?" Jade commented. "People like us don't realy have much purpose in the Mortal World,"

"People like us?" Damon repeated.

"People who deal with magical artifacts, demons, and know enough martial arts to go toe to toe with demons/ People don't even realize how much the Mystic Realm affects their lives. It's kind of sad, really,"

"They're the one who choose to live in ignorance," Ice said dismissively.

"Well, they can't help being brought up the way they were."

"We did,"

"Ice, I've been in this since I was ten. I was raised on this,"

"Fair enough,"

"I guess all those poor people just didn't get the call to adventure,"

"What?"

"The call. I came to America; you got sent a monastrey to learn martial arts."

Damon was silent for a moment, dismissed her comment as absurd and changed the subject. "So, you gonna give him a chance to explain himself?

"Might as well. So, anything to share?"

"We made a few stops in other countries – Japan, Philippines, Hong Kong. We visited priests and wizards – or I did," Damon corrected. "You see those nasty red scales on his arm?"

Damon pointed. "It's a magic burn. That woman callin' herself Circe – I think she gave it to him,"

Jade look in horror over at Drago. She'd never seen Drago physically scar – she assumed it was from his own careless and weird demonic magic but now – not even Uncle had made a scratch on the demonic dragon.

_"How?"_ she whispered.

Damon shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine, chickadee," He ignored the glare he received for the nickname. "Though I will say this - whatever he's trying to stop her from doing or getting it involved the demons or him or both."

"Serious enough to ask two humans for help,"

"Asking *you* for help is stranger than asking me for help," Damon pointed out.

"Fair enough," Jade conceded.

"I think he also said something about the forge's of Hephaestus,"

"As in the Greek god of smiths?"

"Yup - though I think that only is he not a god - he exists or did,"

Jade paused. "I think we need to do research,"

Damon groans.

* * *

The Demon Netherworld

With two demons looking for it, they find the library much quicker than Hsi Wu would have been able to on his own. It's a large and imposing structure, mimicking the ancient Chinese architecture and it floats on a massive rock, looming over everything.

Hsi Wu and Bai Tza are unimpressed and enter the library, the doors swinging open and close off their own accord.

Hsi Wu calls for his nephew in a singsong voice and Bai Tza tolerates it - Hsi Wu is one of the youngest and is slightly more child-like than the others. He keeps the family's spirits up, providing amusement in this endless barren existence.

"Do you mind?" Hsi Wu sighs and circles to rejoin his sister as Tso Lan floats out of the darkness o the library shelves, levitating several books.

_"Apologies, Brother,_" Bai Tza says respectfully._ "Hsi Wu and I were seeking Drago - Dian Rui,"_ she corrects before Tso Lan can express his usual disapproval for such a human name. _"Perhaps you have seen him_?"

_"I have not but I know he has been here for some time. Why?"_

_"I was just wondering where our dear nephew had gotten to," _Hsi Wu explained_. "Tchang Zu of all demons wishes to ask him something,"_

Both Water and Moon demon stared._ "Pardon?" _Bai Tza said. _  
_

_"Something about Shen Du's weakness,"_ Hsi Wu shrugged._ "He's used up all his best tricks,"_

"_I see..." _said Tso Lo after a moment. "_Don't let me disturb your search then," _Hsi Wu flew off immediately but Tso Lan stopped Bai Tza by tugging at her tail - he was one of the few who could do that without consequences. "_I sense your worry, sister,"_

_"Dian Rui is - a fine young demon, despite...certain unfortunate circumstances. Brash and impulsive but I believe he can mature - I am only concerned that he will follow in his father's pawsteps,"_

_"Then we will make sure he does not,"_

* * *

_Author's Note: YES! I finally posted again! *Happy dance* BUT - unfortunately, I have finals. I'll make sure to sketch out notes for the next chapter though so I can get back to this story after finals. My holiday break starts on the 15th because all of my papers and tests will be done. :) So, never fear!_

_I feel like my style change in the middle of the chapter though...let me know what you think! I appreciate your patience._

_Oh - I almost forgot - 'The Call (to Adventure) is a deliberate shout out to TVTropes which I'm obsessed with no matter how much I try to avoid it. _

_Edit: Please take note - that most if not all non-English languages are translated from Google Translate since i know only one language. If you notice any oddities and know that language, please tell me. :) Thanks!_


	8. Gathering under Truce

_**I AM ALIVE!**_

_**Sorry about that long unannounced hiatus folks- my life isn't the easiest to live at the moment. Would anyone like to trade? But rejoice because during my overseas trip to Greece (school trip but still fun), the ancient gods of antiquity smiled on me and returned my muse from her long vacation. I will not abandon this story (even if it seems I will sometimes) b/c I have exciting plans for this story and I want to share it with you!**_

_**Thank you to everyone who has favorited, alerted and reviewed.**_

_**And without further excuses, may I give you the long-awaited Chapter 8 of 'A Dragon's Perfect Jade'.**_

_**Posted: 5-30-2013**_

* * *

Chapter 8 – Gathering under Truce

* * *

Damon scowled at the stacks of books he and Jade had carried into Drago's 'hospital' room and cross his arms over his chest as Jade sat down amongst the piles between the sliding door to the outside and Drago's bed and opened up a notebook and the closest book.

"You like doin' research?"

"When it's anything not about the occult or supernatural, no," she said, already absorbed.

Damon scowled and her amber eyes flickered over him but he was cast into shadows in the unlit room in which only a few slivers of sunlight made it through the window.

Her eyebrow quirked in slight interest but whatever it was didn't have the power to tug her eyes away from the tomes.

"Why don't you get us something to eat since you hate shuffling through papers?" She nodded towards Drago's unmoving form which seemed to be collecting bits of orange and fire that didn't burn the sheets and small patches of it flickered over his scales, turning different colors.

"Sure," Damon shrugged and left the room, not bothering to ask for directions - he'd just follow his nose.

* * *

Xu Lin's kitchen must have looked nice before wraiths trashed the place.

Damon stepped carefully over the rubble in the doorway and hoped the Chinese enchantress hadn't seen the mess yet. It really didn't look all bad though - some of the walls has been damaged and a few ceiling beams had been splintered but nothing that couldn't easily be fixed.

Anyway, if they really needed anything hot it wouldn't be any trouble whipping up a fire pit in the yard.

As he pawed through the dimly-lit kitchen, he caught a glimpse of his face in the burnished pan and his eyes widened. His eyes weren't blue - but demonic scarlet.

* * *

"Did you notice this?!" Damon demanded, bursting into Drago's nursing room empty-handed where Jade was flipping through a book.

She looked up, raising an eyebrow. "That you lost your pizza-face? Yeah - I guess pri - " she hastily edited herself. " - age improves looks, huh?"

"That isn't what I meant," Damon hissed, crossing the room and crowding her space. "Look at my _eyes!"_

Jade blinked. "Okay...they're red."

"Exactly! Don't you think dis is odd?!" Jade pushed him back and gave him a look. "Right, dumb question." Damon muttered. "Then why didn't you say something?"

"I guess I didn't register it as strange?" She shrugged.

"How could - nevah mind. But I'm human! Why are mah eyes changin' color on der own?! Dis ain't like sunlight hittin' 'em - they're legit red!"

"Must be that demon chi. Lin did say you were half-demon,"

"This don't make any kinda sense! I was born human."

"Born is the keyword here -"

He overrode her comments. "You were Queen of the Shadowkhan! Your uncle had demon chi too! Why aren't you changing?!"

"Because Uncle gave all of us a special potion to purify our own chi from outside sources. Our own chi is still affected - like I have more of an affinity of stealth and darkness now and Jackie has a better sense of movement on and below ground and his strength stat is up." Jade rattled off. She frowned. "Hey, how did you know about the Queen of the Shadowkhan thing?"

Damon shrugged. "Drago has some mind of... mental crystal ball going on. He can see things that happened in the past."

Jade frowned. "Can he see the future?"

"If he could, I would think he'd be using it."

"True...well, anyway, I guess in all the confusion, no one remembered to purify you guys."

Damon stared at her, his brow furrowed in thought. "No, we took a potion before Section 13 shipped us off."

"Then something in you must have decided that demon chi _should_ be there." Jade said simply.

"Why?!"

Jade sighed and leaned back against the wall, crossing her arms. "Why are you freakin' out anyway? It's not like you wanna go back top side* - you got turned into a demon and you're freakin' out over demon eyes?"

Damon sighed and sat down next to her, letting his head thump into the wall. He took a breath and was silent for a long moment. "I was suppose to be in prison fer twenty years, Jade. If Captain Black could convince people I tried to help a demon from another time take over the world without sounding completely off his rocker, I would have gotten life."

"It's been seven years." Jade pointed out.

"I don't know why I got out early - they said good behavior but I think there was somethin' with the bureaucracy- "

Jade abruptly facepalmed and Damon gave his old enemy an odd look. "You trying to beat yourself, kiddo? I can help you with that."

"No - Section 13 was disavowed six years ago." Jade explained. "That must have something to do with it - they couldn't even keep Daolong Wong in prison."

"Disavowed?"

"Officially, Section 13 was shut down by the United States Government. So, we let them think we disbanded but we just switch allegiances. So to speak. We still defend people - we just have a different boss."

"So...now Section 13 is a legit paranormal agency working for the Magiate Embassy?"

"Yup."

"Huh. Should you be telling me this?"

Jade shrugged. "I got fired."

The former criminal smirked. "You never did like following rules." Damon paused again, gathering his thoughts. "I am not gonna lie - I missed the power at first. But I had a good normal life before I decided to go looking for power and ... I just... I don't know anymore. I loved it but it was so... devastating to lose it. We fell hard. We were on top of the world, Jade - and then we sold our lives to a demon – not our souls though – and it all came crashing down when he did. I was mad at myself, at your family, at Drago... Don't get me wrong - being back in the mystic business is ... it's cool. But I kind of wanted to start clean. Avoid all the mistakes I made before."

"Hard to do when Drago's the one who brought you back."

"Yeah...but he didn't offer to give me the dragon power back and I didn't ask. I figured I'd just be doing this as a human, you know?"

"That's how I did it. Well, with some magical assistance."

"Yeah - I was aimin' fer being halfway respectable ya know? An adventurer fer hire or somethin'." He chuckled dryly and put his chin on his knees. "Drago actually suggested dat. It also sucks dat he can track me with some mystic chi bond thing."

Jade's eyebrow went up. "Ah. You should have just said that."

Damon glared at her. "I just poured my heart to you and that's your response?"

"I'm acting casual, Snowman." she snarked back. "But yeah, that would make me uncomfortable too. I once used a talisman to track the other half a coin I gave a demon. Helpful when you're not on the recieving end."

"What?"

"We'll swap stories later, Ice. But we should probably fix that chi bond thing."

A bang at the door had them both on their feet before they registered the sound of Scruffy's pawing and whimpering. "What does that dog want?" he scowled.

"That summoning spell's taking a damn long time," Jade observed checking her watch and walking to the door. She opened it, revealing a prancing Scruffy who was yipping. "I heard you, I heard you," she said, bending to scratch behind the dog's ears. "I'm coming."

"You can talk to animals now?"

Jade shrugged. "We already know that magic tends to stick on you - especially when you've been exposed to it as much as we have. Anyway, they need me for the spell." Jade explained. "Do you mind?"

Damon looked down at the books, then at Drago and sighed. "No, go ahead. I'll watch 'im,"

"Great. Don't try anything funny," she added pointing but before he could come up with a witty retort she was gone.

Damon smirked.

* * *

Drago's eyes snapped open, meeting red-tinted darkness. The burn of his eyes receded as the full blood-red of his eyes faded away. His nostrils flared and scents - flooded his sinuses - wood, burning incense, Jade, her dog and cat, the other two girls...

"You just gonna stand there and watch me?" Drago asked, raising himself slowly into a sitting position.

"Jade actually trusted me to watch you," Damon explained from his chair. He had a book on his knee and a small writing table with notebook and pen next to him.

Drago frowned and cocked his head - he had heard the voices before but now that he was paying attention he could hear the sounds of a fierce argument.

"What's going on?"

"The girls called in more of der friends - they're tryin' ter explain everythin'. They're not takin' it well."

"Sounds like an understatement,"

Damon smirked from his spot in the corner of the room, half-concealed in shadow. His eyes glinted red.

Drago's own eyes widened for a moment and then he smirked. "What?" Damon asked, his voice turning sharp.

"Just an interesting thought. What happened?"

"That sorceress - she attacked us with swarms of wraiths - "

Drago stared at him, tail thrashing. "In broad daylight?"

"Yep. She knocked you out cold - we felt the shockwave of it. We brought you back here. You had little flames on you."

"It's how I heal," Drago grumbled. "And they're just ... cool with this?"

"Jade's takin' it well now." Damon said, laying aside his book. "Let's see what all the ruckus is about."

"Cool," Drago grunted, hauling himself out of bed. He stumbled slightly, steadied himself and turned to notice Damon giving him an odd look. "What?"

"Did you know you look a little ... fishy?"

"What?"

"Your tail's getting these little fins...Those weren't there before."

"What?!" Drago checked himself; he was developing spiny ridges on his tail and they did look fin-like. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me!"

"Now you feel my pain." Damon drawled.

Drago's eyes flicked back to Damon's - his crimson eyes were steady and unchanging. "I don't see why you're complaining - you get a nice boost."

"If you're turnin' fishy, doesn't dat mean you'll have an advantage underwater?" Damon shot back.

Drago paused then pointed his tail at him. "Point taken. Come on - I wanna see if they'll pull out the fisticuffs."

* * *

They heard the angry voice long before they even reached the summoning room attached to the rear of the house via a covered but open-aired walkway.

"He tried to kill you! Take over the world!"

"And Tohru was helping restore Shen Du to full strength. And False Future James nearly killed me and Frank's uncle was a bad guy - now he owns a restaurant!"

"Jointly," James added.

In the summoning room, scattered with the remains of a successful spell, Paco looked ready to tear out his hair. Jade had her arms folded over her chest; James was standing awkwardly in the middle and Simone and Xu Lin were standing off to the side, well out of the conflict.

Damon lounged against the frame of the doorway as Drago flicked his tail.

"If I wanted to hurt Jade - " Drago said, dragging everyone's attention to him immediately. "I could have done it awhile ago."

"You could have _tried_." She corrected. Drago smirked and nodded briefly in concision.

"_And_ Strikemaster Ice?!" Paco yelled, pointing.

"Maybe we should summon Frank..." Xu Lin whispered to Simone loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Frank's busy being an agent who doesn't constantly get himself fired!" Paco snapped.

Jade's head whipped around so fast if she'd been anyone else she probably would have gotten whiplash. "Excuse me for preferring getting the job done over adhering to idiot bureaucracy!"

"That's invalid - Section 13 isn't even government sanctioned anymore! We were suppose to shut down years ago!"

"It still has idiot bureaucracy!"

"Oh?" Drago said, sounding interested.

"Paco, give them a chance." Simone said, patiently. "They've have do nothing to harm us – "

"Yet..."

"And we don't plan to," Drago added. "I'd rather deal with one enemy thanks,"

"Jackie and El Toro won't like this."

"Which is why we are officially adults and are no obligation to tell them what we do in our free time," Jade snapped, eyes narrowing.

"You called us to help you fight off Drago! And now you're teaming up with them?!"

"Until we get more information on the exact nature of the situation, yes." Jade said.

"He could be using us!"

" 'He's' standing right here, you know." Drago interjected.

"Then stop standing there!"

"Damon and Drago are welcome here as long as they would like," Xu Lin interrupted.

Paco whirled towards her looking exasperated. "Lin! Your danger sense is seriously off!"

"You are talking to the former guardian of the Lotus Temple," she said, loftily lifting an eyebrow. "You question my abilities?"

"They're demons!"

"Hey, hey – I'm human!" Damon protested.

"Half-human," Drago and Xu Lin corrected simultaneously. Damon threw up his hands.

"And yes, I noticed that I have a demon in my house. Being a demon does not make them inherently evil just as being human does not make us inherently good. We meet evil humans all the time and yet we don't assume all humans are evil creatures."

"Benevolent demons exist - look at the imps. They walk around and associate with people and have businesses like normal," James interjected.

"Exactly." Xu Lin said. "And..." she said, overriding, Paco's next comment. "We need to leave anyway. My defenses were breached. Gather everything - we'll travel by horse to the port."

"We're not – "

"Damon and Drago are our allies now – this debate is _over _until we get to a _safe zone_." Xu Lin said firmly. "Are we clear, _Paco Santorres_?"

"Yes, m'am." Paco muttered.

Damon and Drago exchanged looks.

"We're packing now. There are donkeys in the woods. Jade, come help me fetch them. Simone, James, help these three pack everything and store it. We're leaving tonight before nightfall or not. We've already wasted so much time with the summoning spell."

"Sorry - the elves on the island had some drama to smooth over with Sable first." James apologized.

"Then I forgive you," Xu Lin said, grandly sweeping out; Damon and Drago both stood aside to her pass. "Jade?"

"There are times when I think you're the leader here," Jade said, following her out.

"Only because you lead me away from the temple, sister dear." Xu Lin replied as Ruby and Scruffy tagged along at their heels.

Simone immediately started herding the boys around. "Paco, clean this up - pack up the magical items with James. You two help me with the shop." She breezed pass Damon and Drago, tugging them along as she passed by. "If you're going to work with us, act helpful."

* * *

I have all the time in the world (I think...) hopefully I can actually keep going with this!

Please review and I thank you for your patience dear readers. I hope you enjoyed this.


	9. Elders, not Betters

Ah, the sweet feeling of motivation. It helps that I have a new lovely view from the city from our 'high rise apartment' (currently obscured by rain, but it's still nice. (Usually, we live on a ground floor or the 2nd which is nice for hauling crap up into our apartment but at least this new place has an elevator.) Anyway, my sleeping patterns are off folks which means you get to enjoy the fruits of my labor and I have nothing important to do (yet). The chapters seem to have gotten away from me a little but I am hitting most of the points I outlined.

Thank you to _Crystal Peak, Jade's Pet Dragon and Alana Fox_ for reviewing this story and sticking with it! Let's see if I can win back some of the other readers. Here's a nice long chapter to make up for my long hiatus. Onwards!

Posted: June 7th, 2013, Friday

* * *

Chapter 9 - Elders, not Betters

* * *

The air currents that circled through the Netherworld Library were strangely perfect for Hsi Wu and he curved through the rows of shelves with ease as he followed Drago's trail.

"Nephew! Oh dear, nephew! It is I, your Uncle Wu," Drago's aura presence became stronger. Hsi Wu eagerly swooped around the shelf into an alcove scattered with materials but most of the lanterns in this corridor has gone out, casting into darkness so deep not even his demon eyes could see through it.

Hsi Wu frowned, hovering briefly as he spiraled downwards, catching a lamp on his way down. "There is something unnatural about this darkness..."

As soon as he landed, the lamp went out. Hsi Wu frowned and glanced around. Drago's aura was strong here but it was stagnant - unmoving. Unalive. How strange.

Hsi Wu looked down at the few items that were still visible in the distant lamp light - a broken mirror, a sword shattered into pieces, a few floating bits of dragon's fire too faint to pierce the unnatural gloom and an abandoned shallow bronze crucible with a pile of gray ashes. A few bits of clay were scattered about.

"What sorcery have you been up to, dear nephew...?"

"Brother Wu!"

"This way, Sister Bai, Brother Lan," he called.

The two older demons soon emerged, Tso Lan trailed somewhat disinterestedly behind - Bai Tsa seemed disgusted by the smell.

"Your nose is more sensitive than ours," Hsi Wu said. "What troubles you?"

"It smells of burnt scales," she complained. She paused and took a sniff. "And clay...what is this?"

Tso Lan muttered a brief spell under his breath, summoning several orbs of his special moon fire, driving away the gloom.

Immediately both Hsi Wu and Bai Tsa recoiled from the sight and even Tso Lan drifted several steps back.

The floor of the aisle was covered in runes in both ink, ash and blood, carved into the floor with fire. They glowed now with new life in purple, aqua and dark blue - the colors of Tso Lan, Bai Tsa, and Hsi Wu. The colors of the other five demons were also present through the Chinese characters albeit deadened.

The crucible was standing in the center of the runes with the sword and mirror lying by it - scattered around the edges of the circle were bits of clay and petals - some of the clay bits appeared to still have some shape and a few petals had not turned to ash.

"Our chi!"

"I do not understand..." Tso Lan muttered. "Why would he ..."

"What is this spell?!" Bai Tsa demanded as they retreated further from the hungry reach of the circle.

Hsi Wu took off, circling over it. "Remain cautious," Tso Lan warned, staring at the circle with distrust.

"I think I am safe in the air..." Hsi Wu stopped suddenly, startled enough to nearly fall out of the air and he had to flap to keep airborne. "Mother have mercy..."

Tso Lan and Bai Tsa exchanged wide eyed glances.

"You have to see this."

Tso Lan lifted both himself and his sister above the ground and drifted over to Hsi Wu.

Laying on the ground behind the large crucible was the curled up, blackened but unmistakable form of Drago.

* * *

"I will have his head on a platter!"

Bai Tsa's tail thrashed furiously as Hsi Wu gently laid Drago's curled form on the table. They had snatched his body from the rune circle and retreated to an open workspace.

"Patience, Bai Tsa," Tso Lan cautioned.

"Do you mean Dian Rui or Shen Du?" Hsi Wu questioned.

"Both, either, it matters not! Such a dangerous spell - what was he doing?!"

"I reviewed some of the open books we found near him," Tso Lan volunteered. "There was a great deal about human magi and how demons and magi handle the other party but nothing on the spell he was performing."

"Perhaps Shen Du would know," Hsi Wu suggested.

"If Drago was researching demon and magi relations while performing this spell, then this does seem to be his area of expertise," Tso Lan agreed reluctantly.

"I will get him," Bai Tsa said. "I want answers,"

* * *

Xiao Fung looked up as Bai Tsa shot pass snarling with Tso Lan trailing in her wake.

Xiao Fung looked quizzically over at Dai Gui and Tchang Zu who both paused in their 'competition' (creating rock sculptures) and Po Kong simply snorted from the other side of the rock island field, her hands folded over her large belly, eyes fluttering close.

Xiao Fung looked at Tchang Zu expectantly who grunted and launched into the air after his three siblings.

"Sister and Brother!" He called. "What has the Shamed One done this time? Or does Hsi Wu draw your ire?" He sounded miffed.

"He was distracted from your request." Tso Lan explained. "It is rather pressing,"

"It is Shen Du who draws my wrath," Bai Tsa snarled. "As to what he has done – that I intend to find out."

* * *

Shen Du kept to himself on the farthest reaches of the Netherworld that had become his prison, his torment. Away from his siblings and his nephew with only a pile of books from the library to keep him company.

When he had first found himself in the Netherworld (again), he was quickly embittered with the ease with which Drago was accepted into the group despite his humanoid appearance compared to the other demons. He had assumed that /they/ would assume Drago to be half-human. He wasn't of course and Drago hadn't asked any questions of his past (for that he was grateful). But Hsi Wu took him like a duck to water, Bai Tsa and Tso Lan treated him like a nephew - the others had been uncertain...

Shen Du turned a page in one massive book, eyes skimming down the line of text when he heard a noise behind him.

He turned and was horrified to see Bai Tsa heading straight for him at full speed.

"Shen Du!"

"Why hello, dear sister!" Damn, he just couldn't keep the quaver from his voice whenever he confronted any one of them. To his horror Tso Lan and Tchang Zu were right behind her. "To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?"

She crowded his space , eyes narrowed to mere tiny slits of rage and her tail pinned both arms to his sides so he could not escape.

"I have questions and you will answer."

"Yes, yes - of course."

"Stand aside, sister," Tso Lan bade and her gaze shifted to him ever so slightly. "I will hold him,"

Bai Tsa moved quickly and Shen Du was quickly trapped in the Moon Demon's magic barrier.

"What seems to be the problem?" he said, once he was sure his voice wouldn't break. They already thought he weak enough even with his full strength restore. No need to add even more fuel to the fire.

"What do you know of this spell?" Bai Tsa asked, unfurling up a scroll that she had been clutching in one of her head tentacles

Shen Du's nervous fear dissipated as he craned his neck forward to look at it. "Nothing...but it does appear to contain our trigram characters..."

"We can see that!"

"I believe it is a demon summoning spell," Shen Du said after a moment. "Why..."

"Come with us,"

* * *

Aione had found a little island inhabited only by a small tribe of savages - humans severed from their world. It had been quick work to drive them or turn them into animals for her amusement and they almost seem happier in their animal state. Then she had set about creating a 'lair' for herself, though the term 'lair' was more like one that referred to a shabby cave – it most certainly was _not _a shabby cave.

She reappeared in the rotunda of her villa in a swirl of red smoke, allowing herself a bit of flare. The crow flapped along, cawing and seem to instantelously become stronger, taking flight.

"A little magic does do you a bit of good." she mused as a large hyena bumped into her leg. "Yes, dear I miss you too." she croned, but she was scowling. Ungrateful demons – they could rarely be properly trusted but unlike the minor demons and vampires she had lured to her side and transformed, she could not do the same with Drago.

Magiate was somewhat isolated from the happenings of the mortal realm; though a few of the Rangers – those who crossed between the two realms frequently – kept up on news they were some of the few who knew of the events that happened in San Francisco seven years ago. She wasn't.

She had hoped that coaxing the son instead of the father would prove more helpful to her cause. But then he had to get curious.

But it didn't matter – she had been careful in covering her tracks. Only a few minor exorcists and adventurers had run into her and she had disposed of them quickly. It had been easy to collect most of the pieces to the puzzle. Once she had the others, she'd find the forge of Hesphateus, recapture Drago and everything would fall into place.

* * *

Shen Du was puzzled as to exactly why his siblings would take the time (and energy) to speak to him though the threat of Tchang Zu behind was enough to keep him quiet on the trip.

They flew passed a rock island where Xiao Fung, Dai Gui and Po Kong were resting and Tchang Zu sighed heavily behind him before heading in their direction much to Shen Du's relief.

The trip back was silent and with unusual ease, Bai Tsa relocated the library and quickly slipped between the space between the giant doors, leading them through the winding corridors of towering shelves.

As they moved, a scent and a strange aura grew stronger and more pressing and by the time they reached their destination, Shen Du felt a strong sense of unease.

"Hsi Wu!" Tso Lan called as they emerged into a large alcove. "Has there been any change?"

"Well..." the Sky Demon flapped around nervously. "First it look he was on fire and now..." he pointed at the body laid out on the table.

Curious, Shen Du moved almost not realizing that Tso Lan had removed him from his bonds. His red eyes widened in surprise at the sight of Drago with scales black as night as if he had been charred. One arm had a patch of ruby scales but the more striking addition was...

"Are those...fins?"

Bai Tsa eyes widened in surprise. "That spells must have caused this,"

"I am puzzled by the nature of the spell..." Tso Lan murmured.

"What's with all the commotion?" The four demons turned as Tchang Zu and Xiao Fung stomped – or floated in the Wind Demon's case – towards them.

Shen Du scowled. "I doubt it would be of any interest to you, brother,"

The Lightning Demon was at his throat in a flash, large claws squeezing around it. "You've lost all right to use that term,"

"Well, it looks like Dian Rui has gotten himself into a fine mess," Xiao Fung interrupted as Dai Gui made his presence known,tunneling through the floor, carrying a mirror with Po Kong's likeness on it in his horns so she could see what was going on.

Bai Tsa snapped in annoyance. "Would you all please go away?! We are trying to figure out what spell he used!"

"Maybe he had some of our chi left over," Tchang Zu muttered, peering at the charred corpse, his claws still around Shen Du's neck. "He seems almost dead."

"Reminds me of the barbeque newts I use to eat," Po Kong sighed.

Everyone threw her a look.

"I do think it's time we had a proper family meeting," Tso Lan interrupted.

* * *

Angel Island, San Francisco

Taking a walk around the outdoor perimeter of the subterranean base and enjoying the fresh air, Captain Black checked his watch – in Pacific Time it was noon. _ That means, with Britain nine hours ahead of us, Jade should be asleep now. _He hoped. If she was still _in Britain, _or Europe. He didn't need her calling in a rage right in the middle of his meeting with J-Team in a few hours. Uncle would go off again, Tohru would look at him with disappointment, Jackie would bang his head on the desk. Viper would just smirked in that knowing self-satisfied way of hers and El Toro would fixate him with an accusing look as if it was all _his fault_. Jade had this habit of knowing exactly _the worst time _to call.

Somehow, the view of the San Francisco harbor just set him more on edge than anything.

But then, she had called James this morning – if his hiding in a storage closet was any indication. Jade tended to get any of her friends a little off balance. That was around 8 or so... which means it would have had to be around 3 or 4 in the afternoon where Jade was – if she was still in Europe. And that meant it would be 7 where she was, not the dead of the night. Well, if the meeting was in four hours, that meant it would be roughly 11 pm...

Captain Black stopped his trail of thought and gently thumped himself with his fist.

Why did he let one agent – barely out of her teens at that – uproot him so much?

_Because, you don't treat most of your agents like family_.He reminded himself. His agents were good friends but they were colleagues – he hadn't known them since they were children, he hadn't known any of their relations and most importantly, he hadn't inadvertently provided them with enough ammo to blackmail him for decades. The Black Wyverns were the most capable children – most capable _people _he knew, aside from the J-Team (they still weren't sure who the 'J' actually stood for) and Jade was the one who had made it possible.

He chuckled ruefully to himself,_ I'm just glad she isn't my enemy_.

* * *

"Good afternoon, Grace," he greeted when he entered the outer sanctum of his office. His personal assistant, Grace Rushlake, employed for five years, nodded absently as she typed away at her computer. It was a relief when he found her actually - dedicated, grounded and organized, she had enough backbone and snark to command at least a margin of respect of Section 13's freelance allies including some of the younger members and remained unshaken when she had been informed that she was not applying for the government job she had thought she had been applying for.

"I'll consider it a trial run, sir," and she had been here ever since. Hopefully, he could keep up his good luck.

"Good afternoon, Captain Black. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Has Operatives Stronghold or Santorres been by?"

"No – but Agent McCleister stopped by to say he and Agent Yung were going to look over the files you passed to Operatives Stronghold and Santorres in their place. Apparently, the Operatives had somewhere to be."

"Somewhere to be?"

"Yes, sir. I didn't ask where exactly." Her tone implied that she thought they were 'up to something' - and she was probably right.

Jade's batch of friends – Simone, Xu Lin, Paco, James, Frank, and Charlie – were some of their youngest allies – and in some cases, agents. And unfortunately, Jade's influence and resentment of authority had rubbed off on them. Sometimes, they ran off doing things without going through the proper channels. Like now for instance.

Captain Black sighed and pinched his nose. On second thought, he didn't _really_ have to that meeting with the J-Team_..._they weren't operatives after all and of them only Tohru and Viper had stayed in close contact. He could let them live their lives...as much as they could that is. Jackie had eagerly returned to his archeology career with gusto after the last of the demons had fled though he found himself being Uncle's bodyguard and fellow magic consultant from time to time. Still, he had more time now and he was so overjoyed about it, that Captain Black didn't have the heart to actually _make _him worry about this latest case.

"You look stressed, boss man,"

Speaking of the ex-thief...

"Viper," Captain Black greeted, turning to face her. Grace went back to her computer as if hoping to avoid the woman's notice. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Just wondering when Jade is getting back. Haven't been able to contact her lately," Viper looked at him pointedly as if she knew something she shouldn't. She probably did.

"I suspect in a few weeks," Captain Black said. "I figured she needed a bit more vacation time,"

"Um, hm..." Viper said thoughtfully. As a master thief, she had never been caught but all the same, she had never been keen on actively working for Section 13 when they had been a division of the United States Special Operations Forces. Now that they were affiliated with the Magiate Embassy instead, she was more than willing to help. Probably because the Mystic Realm was more relaxed about 'petty crimes' such as theft. If someone lost their stuff and couldn't get back, that was their problem. She still wasn't an agent though, preferring to work freelance.

"Well, if she checks in let me know. And if she doesn't, let me know."

"Will do,"

The thief gave him another look and sauntered off and Captain Black let go of the breath he hadn't realized he was holding until that moment.

"She wasn't fooled."

"Let me have my illusions," Captain Black scolded Grace. The woman hid a smile, as she tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear. "Of course, Captain. Should I inform the J-Team that the meeting is canceled?"

Sometimes, he wondered how she did that.

"Yes, please. My mobile is on if anyone needs to contact me,"

"Of course, sir," she said as he walked right back out. She shook her head. He rarely stayed in his office for anything less than a mountain of paperwork.

* * *

"Frank, Charlie," Captain Black greeted.

The two agents in question had the files spread over the conference table and the computer screen on the walls were humming with activity.

"Oh, hey, Chief," Charlie greeted, head bent over the files, pen poised. He barely managed a wave and Frank was even more absorbed in the information plastered over the computer screens, sunshades pushed onto his nose to shield his eyes from the glare.

"Any progress?"

"We have some thoughts," Frank said, frowning. "But the threads are so faint...I'm not even sure they're actually there..."

"What?"

"He's talking about connections between crimes across the globe." Charlie explained. Charles Yung, Chow's nephew, ran his fingers through locks of dark blue hair, rubbing his eyes. His plaid button-up shirt was slightly wrinkled and had splashes of mud on them. Unlike his uncle, his eyesight was fine. Like his friends, Charlie had grown up from the awkward gullible kid and filled, gaining some muscle tone and darkened skin, some faint pink scars on his neck and arms. His voice had long since cracked and his adam's apple bobbed as he took a long breath.

"Geez, this is like sitting through my own personal horror movie in my head."

Captain Black raised an eyebrow. "You okay, Charlie?"

The young agent waved him off. "I'm fine,"

"Take a break if you need to Chuck," Frank said, looking thoughtfully at the screens.

"It's rather dim in here, don't you think?" Captain Black asked. Maybe if it was bit brighter it would stave off Charlie's 'mental horror movie'.

"A bit," Charlie said. "This is one of those times I wish I went into construction with Rocko... Computer, lights up to 45 percent,"

The 'dinner atmosphere' light brightened to reading light and Captain Black and Charlie both had to let their sight adjust again.

"Did you look at this full dossier?"

He'd skimmed it; Section 13 was now a sort of catch-all agency for Magiate protecting the magical community from the mortal realm, recovering magical artifacts and making sure that the representatives of various magical factions and cities didn't kill each other.

"Unfortunately no. Fifteen victims?"

"Twenty. And some of this...grisly."

Captain Black closed his eyes. Twenty murders. Twenty dead people, twenty sets of grieving family and friends and co-workers. This was one of those times when he despaired over the human's law-enforcement system.

"I think the recent string of murders here in San Fran are connected to the recent slew of attacks in Magiate," Frank interjected., seemingly unaffected by Charlie's queasiness. "Can I get the dossiers on the all victims, Captain?"

Captain Black's eyebrows furrowed. "Of course," _Suddenly, I'm thinking I fired Jade too soon..._

_"A_re you kidding?! Have you been looking at this crime reports?! This - this - "

"No - you have. You're suppose to remind me that these are people not statistics," Frank said, glaring at his childhood friend over the top of his glasses. "Stop complaining about how awful their deaths were and tell me about their lives,"

Charlie flushed and flipped open the first dossier. "Right...first victim - a Lacey Weatherfield, age 32, an advertising campaign manager at an advertising agency called Glass Prisms. Killed on April 1st,"

"April Fool's Day..." Captain Black muttered. "Coincidence or a sick joke?"

"We'll see. Come on keep going."

"Lacey Weatherfield was born in San Francisco to a single mother and was raised an only child. However, she had an active imagination and went to Ruth Asawa San Francisco School for the Arts..."

* * *

**_... Huh. The story ran away from me. I think it's going to explode out of that outline..._**

**_Well, this chapter was about what everyone else is doing while the Black Wyverns (Jade's band of friends), Damon & Drago prepare for their journey. So, I hoped I explained the time thing well enough. (It's hard coordinating movements of two separate plots on the Earthly Plain, especially when the timezones are different! It's like one is taking place in the future!)_**

_Operatives are people who work with Section 13 but aren't necessarily on the payrolls._

_*Operative Stronghold - James Stronghold_

_* Frank - Francis McCleister_

_*Charlie - Charles Yung (Chow looks at least half-Chinese to me. I'm thinking...he's third, fourth generation? So, Charlie has to be Chinese-descended too)_

_**So, I bet you're all super-confused right? :D Great! That means you'll want to keep reading! Chapter 10 is in progress! I'm going to shoot for weekly updates (Thursday or Friday) and let's finish this by the end of the summer!**_

_**Drop me a review of encouragement - hope you liked it and we'll get back to Drago & Jade and all the rest next chapter, I promise.**_


	10. Deep Thinking

_**I was writing a section of this chapter on my omnicom (what I call a smartphone) when I feel asleep and accidentally erased it with no hope of recovery. And then I didn't feel like rewriting it... but I did! (does this ever happen to anyone else?) Anyway, I'm looking for a job with help from a (restricting) job placement center, it's alternating between blazing heat, mildly spring-weather and pouring rain and life isn't too bad right now... (knock on wood)**_

_**Waiting at your appointments is astonishingly inspiring for stories. (Also keep in mind, that although I have a computer I do not have internet to go with it. So, I have to make epic journeys to the library to get wifi and since I have found a library closer to my new place, that'll be easier. But still keep it in mind. Today, I have made the epic journey from my doctor's appointment to the library)**_

_**Anyway, enough of my ranting. I apologize for the chapter delay. Thank you for understanding and thanks to Mareq, Crystal Peak, LexiLopezi, the Fading Author, Alana Fox, and jameygamer for reviewing. Onwards!**_

_Posted: June 21st, 2013 - Friday_

* * *

Chapter 10 – Deep Thinking

* * *

James had helped Paco clean up the summoning circle, listening to the kickboxer's grumbles as he worked and then trotted along the walkways under the fallen twilight after a sulking Paco to the magic store rooms attached to the summoning room via the walkways, mentally reviewing the last few hours.

When they visited the Elves of Angel Island to use their summon space, Sable had sensed them and had to be petted and played with for at least an hour before she would leave them alone – for a wyvern she was awfully friendly – and then she kept bothering them while they were setting up the spell. And then he had to leave to talk to the Elven Council, leaving Paco to muddle through with the spell on his own.

James made it a mental note to prepare a number of quick-portals because the time it took to set up a summon from a mortal zone to a mystic zone was absolutely ridiculous.

"Why didn't you say anything?!" Paco demanded suddenly, stopping so abruptly James nearly bumped into him.

"It doesn't matter – the only one who can get Jade to do anything without going through a huge argument is Xu Lin – with Simone a close second. 'Sides – even if Drago does betray us, Jade will annihilate him. You know how badly she takes betrayals."

Paco winced at the memory and then smiled. "Yeah."

"Besides, she called us and the Black Wyverns haven't face a problem we couldn't handle yet."

"Don't jinx it."

James paused, thinking. "Paco, why are you against giving a Drago a chance?"

Paco ran his hand through his hair absently and was silent for a few minutes. "When we were kids, it was a big adventure - discovering this whole hidden world no one else knew about - and with Jackie, El Toro, Viper, Tohru and Uncle, it seemed impossible for us to ever lose. It didn't hit me until we were older that anyone of us could have died. And we've been stung by demons too many times - I got possessed by one once - Jade _more_ than once. If she were sane, she would've been more wary of him too."

James thought about that. "But what about me?"

Paco raised an eyebrow at him.

"Simone was attacked by Spring-Heeled Jack and then her grandparents blew into town to teach her magic. Nothing demonic there. But Xu Lin had to involuntarily transform to protect the Lotus Temple and Jade saw a future where I turned _evil._ She was possessed by demonic forces at least twice – maybe more, who's counting – but maybe that's why she's giving him a chance. Maybe she sees something there worth saving. Xu Lin believes - and when has she ever been wrong?"

Paco opened his mouth. "When it comes to things like this." James amended.

Paco closed and grinned ruefully. "Rarely, if ever,"

"Exactly. Maybe it will come back to bite us - but at least we tried. It worked for Sable."

Paco laughed. "It's unfair to compare Drago to an excitable wyvern puppy."

"Maybe a little. But still. Sometimes, a little light is all someone needs,"

"You've been listening to the girls too much."

James just grinned at him. "Someone has to if we're gonna stay out of trouble."

* * *

"Drago's behavior is odd, don't you think?" Jade asked, pushing a tree branch out of the way. "His attitude seems to have completely changed."

"It has been awhile," Xu Lin said, keeping pace with her adopted sister.

"Well, yeah. But that's not the weird part,"

Xu Lin raised an eyebrow and paused in their trek; they could hear the whickers and brays of the horses and donkeys now but Xu Lin didn't move. "Zhi Tian," Xu Lin prompted, using Jade's Chinese name.

Jade sighed. "I feel like... this is normal for us. Or it could have been or it should be..."

Xu Lin gave Jade a confused look and Jade sighed.

"I mean – me and Drago, acting like this. It feels normal. But that doesn't make sense. I mean – Chinese New Year, a few years back, he crashed into my life and got left behind by my future self. But... look at me! I look exactly as she did – first future me – and that hasn't happened! I've been fired from Section four times now and we've been disavowed by the government!"

"Maybe...that time has been erased. Or split off." Xu Lin suggested, brow furrowed in puzzlement. But then again, she had never been expert on time travel. The only two who had ever experienced time-travel first-hand was Jade and James. Well...and the Enforcers. But they weren't really here right now. "I mean James didn't turn evil,"

"Turn. It's just – since Drago 'visited' us back in Britain, I've been getting these nightmares – sometimes it's of the Shadowkhan and sometimes they're not really nightmares. But other times, I feel like I'm seeing bits of a life I never lived."

"Go on."

"When Future Me and Drago were fighting she said 'I'm not the sentimental type'." Jade explained. She paused and stared into the sky. "I get the feeling that... they weren't – we weren't – always enemies."

"In that case, maybe that's why Drago's changed his tune about you now. Because he remembers. Before, he was full of rage but he never actually expended a great amount of effort towards killing you. Maybe he was holding back and now that he has time to cool off..." Xu Lin shrugged. "His aura seems positive at the moment – let's give him a chance. Sometimes, that's all a person – or a demon – really needs. You gave me a chance – James a chance, Viper, Tohru, me – you've got a good sense for these things

"But I did make a mistake once."

"Who knows? Maybe you were right about Hsi Wu too. But even if you weren't – you're only mortal. You've gotta mess up sometime."

"I love that you say 'mortal' and not 'human.'" Jade said as Xu Lin continued to walk.

"It's properly inclusive."

* * *

The work cleaning and packing up Xu Lin's shop area had gone quickly with Simone's magic and Drago's strength – Damon muttered crossly in good-temper about being the human servant going around with a bucket but scrubbed the floors and walls like a pro before Simone could magick them clean.

"You know I could have magicked them..." Simone said when they were looking at freshly waxed and cleaned walls and floors.

Damon threw her a look from across the room. "Do ye t'ink I woulda _wasted all dat effort if I'd known dat?!"_

"I guess all that training at the monastery was worth something," Drago chuckled. Damon threw a sponge in response; Drago batted it out of the air without flinching.

"Go eat your eyes!"

"That's gross, even for a demon," Drago deadpanned.

* * *

When they carried everything outside, Simone led the two boys to a storage shed; there were a few residents about but they didn't seem to think a dragon demon walking around was odd.

" 'N ...tell me how we're gonna put all dis..." Damon waved a hand at the piles of stuff they had carried or levitated over to the shed. "In dat?" he pointed at the small shed.

"Magic," Simone said, brightly and no matter how much they put into the shed, there was always room left over.

"Ah, of course," Damon drawled. " 'A wizard did it' is totally a good excuse now,"

* * *

Damon and Drago were permitted to gather the food supplies while Simone disappeared to pack up the girls' personal belongings.

Damon groaned when a suitcase of books appeared in the kitchen with a note from Simone: 'I'm assuming you and Jade had these for research. You're in charge of them,"

"I feel like dat liddle lady is gettin' way too comfor'able bossin' us aroun'," Damon complained as Drago sniffed around.

"It's probably a good thing," the draconic demon mused.

"Why?" Damon demanded.

"Means she's lettin' us in - acceptin' we're gonna be part of this little team they've got. But don't get to cozy - I think she's got the sauce to take on Aione."

"Red sorceress. T'inks she's Circe?"

"That's the one. And - what's her name? - she - "

"Simone,"

"Yeah, she's got some questions and she wants answers," Drago scowled.

"Sorcerei* make ye uncomfor'able?"

"What do you think?!"

"Hey, hey, chill out, Gecko," Damon teased, provoking a snarl from the demon. "Jus' askin',"

"At least this one ain't got weird stuff floatin' 'round her..." Drago grumbled. He packed away Xu Lin's spices in the travel bags while Damon got the food into special packs.

"We're gonna havta resolve dis 'no meat' issue... oh look! I found...is dis goat meat?"

Drago chuckled briefly but he soon retreated into his thoughts, flicking his newly finned tail. It musta been the spell I used to get here... He hadn't been to thrilled about it but it was better than killing his body and then having Aione summon him into new body. The trigrams had been put in place to summon the remaining magic of the eight portals but clearly they had side effects...

I hope I don't start freakishly mutating like last time...

"You're less angry than I thought you would be," Simone had reappeared, carrying some of her bags over her shoulder and several in her hands.

"And what is that suppose to mean?" Drago asked.

Simone dropped her burdens by the outer door and paused. "Well, Jade told us you had a temper, you were always trying to kill her and her family..."

"He wasn't really trying that hard," Damon interjected.

"Where would be the challenge if I had no one to oppose me?" He shrugged.

"They foiled your plans to take over the world." Simone pointed out.

"Yeah – but then it would have been constantly red and fiery and then I would feel I like I'm going to set myself on fire. And it would have been boring anyway."

"So...you were just doing it for kicks?"

"No, I was trying to take over the world. Realized afterwards that it really wasn't my thing."

Simone looked at him doubtfully but let that line of questioning slide. "How did you put us to sleep?"

"Oh the dream dust? I got that from one my family's grimories."

Simone narrowed her eyes and folded her arms. "Why did you ask Jade for help of all people?"

"There's no one else I could ask," Simone pointed over his shoulder at Damon. "He's a minion," Drago said dismissively.

"I am not your minion!"

"Besides, Jade's good at this kinda thing,"

Simone continued to look at him doubtfully.

"You've never had an archnemesis have you?" Drago said, sounding as if he was talking to a confused children.

Simone bristled. "No, why?"

"Then I don't expect you to understand the ethics of an enemy-enemy partnership," Drago said.

"What?"

"It's an 'enemy mine' thing," Jade explained from the doorway and Drago wondered how long she had been standing there. "Very complex,"

"Uh, huh..." Simone said dryly. "Are we ready to go now?"

"Is the food packed?"

"Yup!" Damon called, packing the last of it away.

"The horses and donkeys are ready too," Paco called from the yard. "Hey!"

"No - Paco's sleeve isn't food," Xu Lin scolded the offending animal.

"Drago's gonna havta walk though," Jade said. "They nearly took off when they sensed him."

"Great," Damon grumbled, carrying the first packages out. "Den since I'm half demon apparently, I havta walk too,"

"I don't think they can smell that much..."

* * *

Jade was wrong - they tried to run when Damon got near them. Damon shoved his burdens at Jade and stalked off, to sulk in the doorway of the house

"Maybe it's a sign," Paco suggested, helping Jade load up the donkeys.

"Of your death, maybe,"

"Drago," Xu Lin said firmly. "Paco, stop antagonizing them."

Dusk had fallen in the hours since Aione's attack and the last of the sunshine was fading from the sky - few distant pinpricks of light from the village could be seen through the trees, indicating the wider village beyond Xu Lin's secluded area.

"Why doesn't the horses run away from Xu Lin or Jade if they sense badness?" James asked. "They use to be ... creatures,"

"I was Queen of the Shadowkhan," Jade corrected loftily. "Not a creature." Ruby curled around her legs, seeming to purr in agreement. "Oh, there you are silly cat."

Scruffy barked at a donkey edging away from the group, commanding it to stay put - it did.

"We can talk to them," Xu Lin pointed out. "And they know me."

"Then put in a good word for me!" Damon pleaded.

"I don't know why you're complaining," Drago said. "You didn't mind trudging through the Philippines,"

"Jus' shuddaup, yew,"

"Oh yeah - I forgot - the horses kept running away from you."

"Shuddaup!"

Drago just laughed as the humans separated everything into piles - personal belongings, cooking supplies, camping gear and loaded them onto the donkeys.

"Can't we magick all of this?" Paco asked.

"Yes - but the donkeys need exercise and I need one of my neighbors to watch them for me," Xu Lin explained.

Jade let her movements become automatic, tuning out Ruby and Scruffy as they prepped the horses and donkeys. Despite the fallen darkness, Xu Lin was determined to leave now. With an ex-Lotus Temple Guardian, a sorceress, chi wizard and one and half demons, they shouldn't meet too much trouble.

To her relief, Drago hadn't tried to flirt with her again though maybe that had to do with lack of proximity than his own choices. But despite Xu Lin's reassurances, she still questioned. Why did Drago come to her for help? Did he have control of her recent dreams? And, on, a side-note why was he growing fins of all things?

"Hey, Lin,"

"Yes, Tian?"

"Why can Drago walk around your house without a charm but Damon can't?"

She paused. "Probably because Drago gave Damon his chi so the wards are registering them both as wearing it. Next time I get a place, I'll have to fix that."

* * *

Lounging against a rock near Damon's leaning tree, Drago snapped his fingers, producing a ball of orange flame, beginning to juggle it between his hands.

"Quit it - you'll burn the forest down,"

Drago shrugged. "I'm not a dragonet," he said. "I jus' wanted to know if you wanted some extra power." He held up the large fireball enticingly - oranges and yellows with faint strands of pale blue and fainter strands of white.

Damon hesitated.

Last time he had touched dragon fire, he'd been on top of the world, a high that only a few moths before it had all come crashing down and he been tossed back to the bottom of the heap, farther than before. He thought it was over, those adventures, finding mystical artifacts and traveling the world (less than legally but still). Falling so far from so high was painful – all that power lost in an instant – at his finger tips again.

"Not scare are, ye?" There was a grin in Drago's voice.

Damon glared at the demon through the flames, but Drago's gaze was serious, steady. Damon's eyes fell again to flames,which seem calming, welcoming.

"This time's different."

"I know." He didn't need extra power just to run through the woods – he could keep pace on his own but his ability to do that – he wondered about how much of him had been change while he was sniffing around the mystical and impossible.

Besides, going up a powerful sorceress wasn't going to be a cakewalk – extra power wouldn't be anything but helpful where he was going. And he'd missed it. The warmth sank through his skin, to his bones, instead of warning him off. By the time, he registered Xu Lin's voice calling out to him, he'd already plunged one hand into the fire and he closed his eyes as he was completely enshrouded in flames.

* * *

He and Drago were standing across from each other in the center of a spiraling wall of flames, warm instead of burning, pictures and colors flashing past.

"Well," said Drago blandly. "This is new."

"Just awesome," Damon sighed. "Why do I keep doin' dis to myself?"

Drago did not respond and Damon quickly recognized, Drago's 'buggin' out look' - the glazed, distant look he wore when he was vision-lost.

"Even better," he looked down at his hands, feeling a growing itch and discovered the steady but quick growth of the familiar dark scales. Then, his vision abruptly cut out into a field of whiteness before steadying again. "Dafuq?"

His sight then gradually receded, his surroundings melting away before another scene appeared - a temple with a tall staircase had been built into the side of a mountain at the head of a snowy mountain valley. A number of stalls were set up at the base of the temple steps and a village surrounded it's outer walls. A few monks wrapped in brown robes with blue sashes and people wrapped in warm clothes was visible.

A curtain fire arose between Damon and his aerial view of the valley temple - burning, warning - Damon shielded his eyes with his arm, squinting against the intensity of the flame as they turned a pale yellow, almost white. A woman's voice was speaking but the voice was at a soft murmur in an unfamiliar language; he could not understand her. As the voice continued, a shadow appeared in the flames - the shape of a winged dragon. And it seemed to be staring at him with expectant eyes he could not see.

He tried to speak but his words were stuck in his throat. He tried again but he could not speak. The shadow faded before he could formulate a sentence and a cold biting wind, rushed through him, dispelling the fire, leaving him in darkness feeling empty and bereft.

The night time forest returned as did Drago staring into the distance, unmoving. Damon was faintly aware of approaching humans and the crackling pops of burning wood but his fatigued muscles and tight scales were telling him to collapse - so he did.

* * *

Xu Lin ran to Damon at full speed, cheongsam flapping on the breeze with James right behind her. She skidded to his side just as he collapsed, growling deep in his throat and clutching his head, not noticing the ice mist around Xu Lin that would douse the burning tree.

"Damon! Damon, just breathe with me!" The turned demon gave no sign that he had heard her voice; Xu Lin fell to her knees beside him, wrapping her arms tightly around his shaking form as James hovered over them with a chi lamp in his hand. Immediately thick strands of orange & blue chi from Damon into the lamp, fire playing across his scales.

Simone and Paco kept tight hold of the frightened mounts, securing them to trees while Ruby sat on the neck of Jade's chosen horse, keeping it calm with a paw atop it's head and Scruffy circled them, barking authoritatively.

Drago seemed to be staring into space and Jade was striving to shake him out of his trance but poking, prodding, kicking, punching and pushing were having no effect. So she stomped on his tail and he came out of his trance with an angered roar and a plume of flame, yanking his injured tail from under her foot.

"What is wrong with you?!"

Jade pointed wordlessly at Damon who was thrashing in Xu Lin's tight grip, his growls nearly drowning out her whimpers of pain.

"What - What's wrong with him?" he demanded.

"I don't know!" Xu Lin said. "How much chi did you give him?"

"The same amount I thought – same as before but -"

"The tornado of flame was new," Jade said.

Xu Lin hissed in pain as Damon's scales scraped harshly on her skin. "Drago, you need to take him to the infirmary in the harbor city,"

"He can't do that if Damon keeps thrashing around like a lunatic!" James snapped. "He's hurting you!"

"Damon's hurting more!"

Drago darted past Jade, pulling Xu Lin away from Damon, despite James' protests and took her place holding the pained ex-convict in place with one arm, holding a blue stone orb he had pulled from his vest in the other and crushing it. It fell into blue dream dust that dusted Damon's face and soon had his muscles relaxing and the fire fading as he slipped off to sleep.

"That's handy," James commented.

"Very. And put away that chi lamp! It's not helping."

"Yes, it is." James protested. "His convulsions aren't so bad now."

"Well, put it away and give it to me! He can't heal if he doesn't get use to the new chi," Drago snapped. James reluctantly obeyed and looped it around Drago's shoulder so he could carry it.

"Can't you use fireportation?" Jade asked, brow furrowed in thought as she helped Xu Lin nursed her scrapes.

"What? Oh, fire teleportation. Yeah. But only fer demons – humans get burned."

Paco's voice sounded as if he was standing next to them but he was still across the clearing; no doubt Simone was using a spell. "We can't just let them go into town by themselves."

"Tell him to shut up." Drago said to Jade. "Damon's havin' a fit; we're not trying to play you or something!"

"We shouldn't split up," Paco amended with a scowl in his voice. "No one's gonna care who you are – as long as you don't burn down the town. I'm saying it's night and that means wraiths. As much as I hate to say it, we'd have a better chance fending them off with demons."

"I can handle them." Simone put in.

"And I can go with them," Jade added, pointing at her sunbands.

"I wish I had never given you those." Paco said ruefully.

"Too late now," she smirked. " 'Sides, if you take 'em back, Quetzalcoatl might take offense,"

Drago resolved to ask about that; it sounded like there was a story behind it. "You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Don't blame me if you pass out, Amber." he warned, scooping Damon into his arms, the former human's light emerald scales a sharp contrast to Drago's own olive colored scales.

"Stay with Simone," Jade ordered her familiars as Xu Lin and James stepped back.

"We'll probably stay in the village tonight and catch up in the morning," Xu Lin said. Drago and Jade nodded as she grabbed onto his bicep.

"Close yer eyes," Drago warned before they were gone in a flash of fire.

* * *

_**Sorcerei* - my plural for sorcerers and sorceresses. can also be used as a singular form to refer to a sorcerei of either gender.**_

_**So...reading over this, this chapter is a little weird. It bounces around. But yay, we're finally get to action! (I hope) Aren't you loving these updates folks? (And thank you for not reviewing the Author Note chapter. I appreciate it.)**_

_**So, thoughts? Too slow? Too much character interaction chapters? Any burning questions you need answered? (I'm feeling a little insecure here.) What do you think of the characters interaction with each other? What should I include more of? (keep in mind that not all of your suggestions will be seen but I will take them into account to make a better story.)**_

_**Until, next time my loyal reader, as I plow on with the 11th chapter! Expect it by the weekend, probably Sunday, June 30th b/c I have an appointment on Friday, folks. (and it'll take all day).**_

_**Please review and tell me your thoughts!**_


	11. More Delays

So, let's make a deal guys. I'll try to keep up with regular updates and when I can't, I'll tell you - either in the descrip or via one of these - 'I'm sorry i'm such a flake author' notes. So...laziness happened. And then - I don't wanna rush this, these chapter(s) keep jumping around and gah! So, I wanted to do a timeskip but I hit a rut. Redoing chapter. I won't make promises about when it'll be up but I thank you for your patience (especially for sticking around after no updates for months.)

(and keep up you're 'don't review author notes unless is it as anons' b/c it's disorients me when I replace the note with an actual chapter)

Thanks again, readers!

Mirror's Mirage.


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